Beyond the hermeneutics of suspicion in the critique of humanitarian intervention

2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 240-259
Author(s):  
Dimitrios E. Akrivoulis
Keyword(s):  
Social Constructivism ◽  
Humanitarian Intervention ◽  
Paul Ricoeur ◽  
International Norms ◽  
Social Constructivist ◽  
Critical Questions ◽  
The Social ◽  
Paul Ricœur ◽  
Opening Up ◽  
Life Work

AbstractRealist and Marxist critiques of humanitarian intervention are distinctively materialistic in scope. The IR literature has already described this scepticism as a ‘hermeneutics of suspicion’, a term associated with the work of Paul Ricoeur, which aims to unearth the intervenors’ material and geopolitical interests hypocritically hidden behind the pretext of humanitarianism. The article first notes the decontextualised misappropriations of the term as an iconic and omnipotent instrument of doubt, as well as the limitations of the social constructivist response on the matter. By contextualising Ricoeur’s hermeneutics of suspicion as developed in his life work, the article then calls for an extension of critique from a hermeneutics of suspicion to a hermeneutics of naïveté. Applied in the critique of the ideology of humanitarian intervention, the article thus calls for a shift of focus from the examination of the distorting (Marxism, realism) and legitimising (social constructivism) functions of this ideology to its integrating function that has allowed the evocation of humanitarian principles as international norms, and uncritically vindicates this arrangement. The article proposes that this hermeneutical detour could allow critique to proceed to a greater analytical depth, opening up a set of critical questions.

Archive Fevers

2020 ◽  
pp. 24-41
Author(s):  
Albena Yaneva
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Jacques Derrida ◽  
Paul Ricoeur ◽  
Architectural Practice ◽  
The Arts ◽  
The Social ◽  
Paul Ricœur ◽  
Empirical Turn

This chapter reviews several developments in the social sciences and the arts that date back to the 1990s and motivated this study of archives as practice. It refers to Jacques Derrida and Paul Ricoeur as key protagonists that led to the rethinking of the role of archiving as a tool of memory. It also details the emergence of the trend of “archival ethnography,” which witnessed the advent of the archival turn in anthropology. The chapter elaborates how archival scholarship took an empirical turn in the mid-1990s, coinciding with the “archive fever” in the arts and the “archival turn” in anthropology that opened venues for investigating architectural archiving. It explores the realm of architectural practice wherein the computer radically changed working dynamics and led to the practice's own archival turn in the mid-1990s.

scholarly journals Making Sense of the Social: Hermeneutics and Social Philosophy

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-85
Author(s):  
Gonçalo Marcelo
Keyword(s):  
Paul Ricoeur ◽  
Social Philosophy ◽  
Intrinsic Connection ◽  
Making Sense ◽  
The Social ◽  
Paul Ricœur ◽  
Social Hermeneutics

This paper aims to rationnally reconstruct a project of social philosophy in Paul Ricoeur. It argues that there is an intrinsic connection between hermeneutics and social philosophy, and that Ricoeurian hermeneutics is well suited to provide the interpretative background in which the emancipatory interest of social philosophy can successfuly unfold.

The Social Construction of Reality (1966) Revisited: Epistemology and Theorizing in the Study of Religion

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 120-151
Author(s):  
Markus Dressler
Keyword(s):  
Social Constructivism ◽  
Social Constructivist ◽  
Social Construction Of Reality ◽  
Production Of Knowledge ◽  
Peter Berger ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Social ◽  
Radical Constructivist ◽  
Contemporary Study ◽  
Social Constructivist Approach

AbstractThis paper takes the social constructivist approach, formulated by Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann, as a starting point for an investigation into epistemology and theorizing in the contemporary study of religion. It discusses various strands of scholarship in dialogue with social constructivism and questions in particular the reductionism of radical constructivist positions. Exploring the boundaries of the classical social constructivist paradigm, the article argues that students of religion should consider the implication of social, historical, embodied and material structures in the production of knowledge about religion. For that purpose, it draws on various soft realist approaches to stress the importance of remaining attentive to positionality (reflecting on the sites from where we theorize) and contextuality (reflecting on the inter-relation of discourse and materiality) in theorizing “religion”. Finally, the article suggests that soft realist positions can be integrated in a slightly broadened social constructivist framework for the study of religion.

scholarly journals Análisis filosófico de la construcción social de la escuela: claves críticas a partir de Ian Hacking

10.14201/984 ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Penalva Buitrago
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Social Constructivism ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Premier Lieu ◽  
Educational Community ◽  
Ian Hacking ◽  
Critical Questions ◽  
Educational Processes ◽  
The Social ◽  
Structure Sociale

RESUMEN: Este artículo ofrece un análisis filosófico de la idea de la construcción social de la escuela. Tomando como punto de partida algunas de las claves críticas que I. Hacking señala respecto del constructivismo, el autor ensaya una nueva ruta de análisis, no explorada por Hacking: el análisis del constructivismo social en los procesos educativos y en las instituciones educativas. Con ello se intenta poner de relieve cuestiones teóricas de fondo –principalmente de carácter ontológico– acerca de las cuales la comunidad pedagógica ha prestado escasa atención. El análisis se desarrolla en cuatro pasos: en primer lugar, se ofrecen las ideas de Hacking más relevantes al respecto; después, se expone una síntesis de la posición dominante acerca de la construcción social de la escuela. Seguidamente, se analizan los aspectos ontológicos implicados en tal idea, y, por último, se extraen las consecuencias educativas.ABSTRACT: This paper offers a philosophical analysis of the idea of the social construction of School. Taking as a standpoint some critical questions which I. Hacking proposed regarding constructivism, the author examines a new route, not explored by Hacking, i.e., the analysis of social constructivism in educational processes and educational institutions. In this way we expect to throw light on certain deep theoretical questions –of an ontological nature, mainly– to which the educational community has paid little attention. The analysis follows four steps: first, it describes Hacking’s most important ideas in this regard; second, it synthesises the dominant stance concerning the social construction of School. Third, it examines the ontological assumptions of this idea, and, finally, describes some educational consequences.SOMMAIRE: Cet article offre une analyse philosophique de la structure sociale des écoles. L’auteur, à partir de quelques idées critiques signalées par I. Hacking à propos du constructivisme, envisage une nouvelle approche pas explorée par Hacking: celle de l’analyse du constructivisme social dans les processus et les institutions éducatives. Cette approche a pour but de signaler quelques questions théoriques fondamentales –de nature ontologique principalement– très peu analysées par la communauté pédagogique. L’analyse se déroule en quatre étapes: en premier lieu, les idées fondamentales de I. Hacking sont exposées; en second lieu, une synthèse du discours dominant sur la construction sociale de l’école est offerte; en troisième lieu, les aspects ontologiques impliquées y sont développés et, finalement, en quatrième lieu, les conséquences éducatives y sont dégagées.

scholarly journals Narrative Refiguration of Social Events: Paul Ricoeur's Contribution to Rethinking the Social

2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Borisenkova
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Narrative Theory ◽  
Paul Ricoeur ◽  
Narrative Approach ◽  
Event Analysis ◽  
Social Events ◽  
The Social ◽  
Paul Ricœur ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Sciences Sociales

The analysis of events has been a central issue for social sciences for a long time. The problem of an event's definition and distinction is still at stake in sociological debates. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the contribution of Paul Ricoeur's narrative theory to social events studies. First, this is done through the explication of the concept in the framework of narrative approach. Secondly, the paper highlights the narrative's capacity of 'refiguring' the social by re-describing social events, subordinating their succession to the logic of story-telling and transforming temporal characteristics as well. Apart from some insights, interpretative explanations and illustrations the paper provides critical arguments concerning the limitations of Paul Ricoeur's narrative approach with respect to sociological event-analysis.     L'analyse des événements a toujours été une question centrale pour l'histoire et les sciences sociales. Le problème de la définition et de la distinction des événements est encore en jeu dans les débats sociologiques contemporains. L'objectif de cet article est de s'attarder sur la contribution de la théorie de Paul Ricœur aux études des événements sociaux.  Après avoir montré les limites d'une conception impersonnelle de l'événement, l'auteur se penche sur la solution narrative proposée par Ricœur, à savoir la capacité du récit à “refigurer” du Social par la re-description des événements sociaux. Il s'agit de soumettre la logique de la succession temporelle à la logique de la narration. Tout en rendant justice à la valeur heuristique de telles analyses (à travers une série d'explicitations et d'illustrations), l'article pointe les limites de l'approche narrative de Paul Ricœur au regard des analyses sociologique des événements.  

scholarly journals Recognition and Justice

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Reagan
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Distributive Justice ◽  
Paul Ricoeur ◽  
The Other ◽  
Necessary Condition ◽  
Political Justice ◽  
Self Recognition ◽  
The Social ◽  
Paul Ricœur ◽  
Multiple Meanings

Paul Ricœur devoted much of his last ten years to studies and analyses of justice and recognition. This paper will trace the indelible bonds between justice and recognition and claim that recognition is a necessary condition for justice and that justice is the telos or goal of recognition. I begin this paper with a review of the multiple meanings of recognition in the two famous French dictionaries, the Littré (1859-1872) and the Le Grand Robert (1985). In his book, The Course of Recognition (2005), Ricoeur groups recognition under three headings, recognition as a form of knowledge or cognition (epistemological), self-recognition, and recognition of the other on the social and judicial level.The complexities of the meanings of “to recognize” and “recognition” are important in their roles in the realm of justice. I include in the concept of justice, the judiciary, both civil and criminal; distributive justice; and, social and political justice. For each one of these, there are multiple meanings of recognition that are important to understanding their foundation and their scope. There are meanings of recognition that are relevant to other aspects of social justice as the recognition of marginal, oppressed, devalued, groups as deserving of being treated as equals. The structure of my paper is to go through the various meanings and categories of meanings of “to recognize” and “recognition.” I give an account of each of the types of justice and show how various kinds of recognition are relevant to each kind of justice.

scholarly journals Arendt and Ricœur on Ideology and Authority.

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 64-80
Author(s):  
Carlos Alfonso Garduño Comparán
Keyword(s):  
Free Action ◽  
Paul Ricoeur ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Dimension ◽  
The Social ◽  
Paul Ricœur ◽  
Sens Commun ◽  
Basic Concepts ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Power And Authority

AbstractHannah Arendt’s work is an important reference for Paul Ricœur. Her definition of power as the free action in concert of individuals within a community of equals, guaranteed by institutions, allows Ricœur to ground his reflection on the political dimension of recognition and justice. However, as I will show in this paper, such a definition is problematic, particularly because of the relation that Arendt establishes between power and authority, her decision to separate the social and the political, and her understanding of ideology, philosophy, and common sense in politics.After describing Arendt’s account of the relation between power and authority, I argue that, without rejecting the spirit of her political thought or her basic concepts, Ricœur’s reflections on the functions of ideology in his Lectures on Ideology and Utopia offer a broader but complementary vision that allows us to understand the issues that remain obscure in Arendt’s approach.Keywords: Arendt, Ideology, Authority, Power, Social.RésuméL’œuvre de Hannah Arendt constitue une référence importante pour Paul Ricœur. La définition arendtienne du pouvoir comme agir ensemble des individus au sein d’une communauté d’égaux garantie par des institutions, fournit en effet à Ricœur les bases de sa réflexion sur la dimension politique de la reconnaissance et de la justice. Cependant, cet article s’efforce de montrer qu’une telle définition est problématique, non seulement en raison de la relation qu’Arendt établit entre le pouvoir et l’autorité, mais aussi en ce qui concerne sa distinction du social et du politique, sa compréhension de l’idéologie, ainsi que sa conception de la philosophie et du sens commun dans le domaine politique.Après une analyse des thèses d’Arendt sur la relation entre le pouvoir et l’autorité, cet article soutient que, sans rejeter l’esprit de la pensée politique arendtienne et ses concepts de base, la conception ricœurienne des fonctions de l’idéologie développée dans L’idéologie et l’utopie offre une vision plus ample et plus complète qui permet d’éclairer les questions qui demeurent obscures dans l’approche de Hannah Arendt.Mots-clés: Arendt, idéologie, autorité, pouvoir, social.

Récits idéologiques et logique démocratique : pour une réévaluation de l'idéologie à partir de Claude Lefort et Paul Ricoeur

2013 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 115-134
Author(s):  
Myrtô Dutrisac
Keyword(s):  
Social Groups ◽  
Paul Ricoeur ◽  
Social Imaginary ◽  
Positive Aspect ◽  
Positive Dimension ◽  
Claude Lefort ◽  
The Social ◽  
De Se ◽  
Paul Ricœur ◽  
Democratic Experience

Résumé.Mon objectif est de mettre de l'avant une dimension souvent négligée du discours idéologique, dimension positive qui en fait un type de récit politique permettant à un groupe de se nommer et de se définir. Je cherche plus précisément à compléter l'analyse de l'idéologie proposée par Claude Lefort en m'appuyant sur les observations qu'offre Paul Ricoeur sur ce phénomène. Lefort, lecteur de Marx, semble mettre essentiellement de l'avant la dimension dissimulatrice de l'idéologie. Pourtant, il aurait selon moi tout à gagner à reconnaître sa dimension positive, dimension jouant un rôle essentiel dans la construction de l'imaginaire social collectif. Mon hypothèse est la suivante : il ne faut pas négliger cet apport positif du discours idéologique, reconnu par Ricoeur, puisque ce discours, aussi longtemps qu'il reste bien visible, est un moteur essentiel du jeu démocratique. Même quand l'idéologie s'expose comme pur discours de domination, servant à défendre les intérêts d'une classe dominante, elle nourrit la compétition ou la logique démocratique en s'offrant comme un discours d'autorité auquel on peut réagir. L'étude du mouvement du discours idéologique, mouvement entre affirmation et dissimulation, permettrait même d'offrir de nouvelles perspectives de réponse au problème de la crise de l'imaginaire social qui occupe Lefort à l'époque où il publie ses textes sur l'idéologie, à la fin des années soixante-dix.Abstract.Ideology is often perceived as an instrument used by a group of people to secure its domination over others. It is used to disguise certain aspects of social reality. I want to bring forward another dimension of ideology, a positive dimension that makes it a necessary component of the affirmation, and therefore the births, of social groups. To do this, I wish to supplement French philosopher Claude Lefort's analysis of ideology with the addition of a few ideas inspired by the work of one of his peers, Paul Ricoeur. Lefort, a reader of Marx, focuses essentially on the dissimulative dimension of this phenomenon. By doing so, he does not take into consideration its role in the construction of social imaginaries. I wish to argue that this positive aspect of ideology, acknowledged by Ricoeur, plays an essential role in the democratic experience, as long as the ideological discourse remains visible for everyone. Even when this discourse presents itself solely as an instrument of domination used by a class in order to preserve its own interests, it sustains the internal logic of democracy. By establishing itself as the main discourse of authority, its legitimacy will undoubtedly be put into question in the course of the democratic competition for power. It nourishes this competition. I feel that the study of this movement of ideology between affirmation and dissimulation can even offer new solutions to the crisis of the social imaginary diagnosed by Lefort during the 1970s, when he wrote his essays on ideology.

What Makes the World Hang Together? Neo-utilitarianism and the Social Constructivist Challenge

1998 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 855-885 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Gerard Ruggie
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Social Action ◽  
Social Constructivism ◽  
Social Order ◽  
Social Constructivist ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
Neoliberal Institutionalism ◽  
Dimensions Of Space

Social constructivism in international relations has come into its own during the past decade, not only as a metatheoretical critique of currently dominant neo-utilitarian approaches (neo-realism and neoliberal institutionalism) but increasingly in the form of detailed empirical findings and theoretical insights. Constructivism addresses many of the same issues addressed by neo-utilitarianism, though from a different vantage and, therefore, with different effect. It also concerns itself with issues that neo-utilitarianism treats by assumption, discounts, ignores, or simply cannot apprehend within its characteristic ontology and/or epistemology. The constructivist project has sought to open up the relatively narrow theoretical confines of conventional approaches—by pushing them back to problematize the interests and identities of actors; deeper to incorporate the intersubjective bases of social action and social order; and into the dimensions of space and time to establish international structure as contingent practice, constraining social action but also being (re)created and, therefore, potentially transformed by it.

Literature and the Philosophy of Paul Ricœur

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 203-210
Author(s):  
Valdés Mario J.
Keyword(s):  
Paul Ricoeur ◽  
Paul Ricœur
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