The Foundation and Application of Moral Philosophy Ricoeur's Ethical Order

Paul Ricoeur (1913), prominent French philosopher, is one of the most versatile thinkers of our time. Moreover, he is known to be an extremely gifted lecturer, who is able to set forth ethical issues very lucidly. His erudition and profundity are also evident in the two texts that are central to this book, i.e. 'The Problem of the Foundation of Moral Philosophy' and 'Can Forgiveness Heal?' These lectures constitute a remarkable effort on the part of Ricoeur to find an original and more radical foundation of ethics than can be expressed in any law. He demonstrates quite convincingly why the law is not the primary category of ethics. He further deals with the question of what might be the evangelical orientation of ethics. Finally, he sheds light on the specific role of forgiveness. The two lectures by Ricoeur, which have been translated here from French into English, and to which an introduction and three multi-disciplinary commentaries have been added, not only elucidate a fundamental question in the field of ethics, but, in a more general sense, they are also fine examples of philosophical reasoning.