Reading Religious Ritual with Ricoeur: Between Fragility and Hope

Description

Reading Religious Ritual with Ricoeur: Between Fragility and Hope creates a dialogue between Ricœur’s hermeneutic philosophy and the interpretation of human ritual practices, especially as such practices are manifested within the context of Christian liturgy. In the first part of the book, Christina M. Gschwandtner shows that Ricœur’s account of religion would be deepened if it were to take into account not only the biblical texts but also forms of liturgical expression and ritual actions. She challenges Ricœur’s early reading of the symbol and second naïveté, broadens his interpretation of biblical texts and faith to consider religious actions more fully, and suggests that ritual can enhance human capacities. The second part of the book employs Ricœur’s hermeneutics in order to shed light on the analysis of liturgy, demonstrating that his accounts of truth, of the world of the text, of religious language, of the imagination, and of the formation of identity are all eminently applicable to liturgical experience. Reading Religious Ritual with Ricoeur shows that one of the most significant themes in Ricœur’s work—the tension between fragility and hope—is especially helpful for understanding what liturgy does and how it functions. Seeing how liturgy and ritual configure fragility and hope also enriches Ricœur’s account of the role and function of religion in human experience. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Contents Preface Acknowledgments Abbreviations of Frequently Cited Works by Ricœur Part I: Reading Ricœur toward Ritual Chapter 1: Symbolism, Myth, and the Move to Second Naïveté Symbol, Myth, and the Fullness of Language From First to Second Naïveté Wagering on the Servile Will Chapter 2: Scripture, Narrative, and the Move to Action Poetry, Polyphony, and the Logic of Superabundance From Text to Action and From Narrative to Life Religious Narratives and the Liturgical World Chapter 3: Ethics, Justice, and the Move to Wisdom Narrative, Wisdom, and the Social Imaginary History, Justice, and Recognition Religious Selfhood, Capacity, and the Biblical Imaginary Interlude: Liturgy and Hermeneutics Part II: Reading Ritual with Ricœur Chapter 4: Liturgical Truth: Fidelity, Attestation, Manifestation History and Truth as Fidelity Personal Identity and Truth as Attestation Biblical Interpretation and Truth as Manifestation Chapter 5: Liturgical Meaning: Prefiguration, Configuration, Refiguration The Role of Mimesis in Liturgy The Entry into the Liturgical “World” Distanciation, Appropriation, and Repetition Chapter 6: Liturgical Language: Symbolism, Polyphony, Dialogue Symbolism and Metaphor Polyphony and Limit-Expressions Dialogue and Paradox Chapter 7: Liturgical Imagination: Memory, Creativity, Tradition Imagination as Memory and Representation Imagination as Innovation and Creativity Imagination between Ideology and Utopia Chapter 8: Liturgical Identity: Confession, Conversion, Community Agency in Ascription and Confession Selfhood in Conversion and Transformation Communal Identity between Fragility and Hope Conclusion Notes Preface Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Interlude Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Conclusion Bibliography Index About the Author