The Place of Max Weber in Ricœur’s Philosophy: Power, Ideology, Explanation

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/jffp.2020.949

Keywords:

Paul Ricœur, Max Weber, Responsibility, State, Ideology, Explanation, Interpretation, Social sciences

Abstract

This article offers an encompassing interpretation of Paul Ricœur’s reception of Max Weber’s sociology. Three main domains in which Ricœur redeployed and revised insights from Weber are examined: (1) political responsibility and the definition of the state, (2) significant categories for understanding social interaction (notably ideology and authority) and the social ontology implied by this view on action and, finally, (3) the role of explanation in the interpretive social sciences. As a whole, this article argues that Weber was a significant interlocutor of Ricœur on a number of significant themes in the philosopher’s work. In particular, the article profiles the Weberian aspect of Ricœur’s social and political philosophy.

Author Biography

Ernst Wolff, KU Leuven

Professor of Philosophy, Institute of Philosophy

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Published

2020-12-04

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Articles