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It is always possible to argue against an interpretation, to confront interpretations, to arbitrate between them and to seek for an agreement, even if this agreement remains beyond our reach.
Paul Ricoeur
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Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote emphasizes the importance of dialogue and the pursuit of understanding through differing interpretations.

Paul Ricoeur highlights the critical role of discourse in navigating the complex world of interpretations. He suggests that while reaching a consensus may sometimes be elusive, the process of engaging with various viewpoints is valuable and necessary for deeper understanding and agreement.

Themes

InterpretationDialogueAgreementUnderstandingPhilosophy

In practice

Example use cases

During a team meeting, we can reflect on the various interpretations of our project goals and aim for a unified direction.

More from Paul Ricoeur

Although there has always been a hermeneutic problem in Christianity, the hermeneutic question today seems to us a new one.
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The narrative constructs the identity of the character, what can be called his or her narrative identity, in constructing that of the story told. It is the identity of the story that makes the identity of the character.
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If it is true that there is always more than one way of construing a text, it is not true that all interpretations are equal.
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But myth is something else than an explanation of the world, of history, and of destiny. Myth expresses in terms of the world - that is, of the other world or the second world - the understanding that man has of himself in relation to the foundation and the limit of his existence. Hence to demythologize is to interpret myth, that is, to relate the objective representations of the myth to the self-understanding which is both shown and concealed in it.
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On a cosmic scale, our life is insignificant, yet this brief period when we appear in the world is the time in which all meaningful questions arise.
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Testimony demands to be interpreted because of the dialectic of meaning and event that traverses it.
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