Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Paul Ricoeur: The Promise and Risk of Politics (20th Century Political Thinkers)

Paul Ricoeur, with Rawls, Walzer, and Habermas as some of his main interlocutors, has developed a substantial and distinctive body of political thought. On the one hand, it articulates a rich conception of the paradoxical character of the domain of politics. On the other, it provides a fresh approach to such major topics as the relationship among politics, economics, and ethics and between concern for universal human rights and respect for cultural plurality. His work, rooted as it is in Aristotle, Kant, and Hegel, also provides resources for a fruitful rethinking of the issues at stake in the liberal-communitarian debate. Review This book has an elegant structure . . . Dauenhauer's treatment of Ricoeur in fact dovetails so well with his own political thought . . . that it is difficult to tell where Ricoeur ends and Dauenhauer begins.--Kevin Orange "Radical Philosophy " Professor Dauenhauer has provided the English language literature with a unique, major critical assessment of Ricoeur's political and social writings.The work is highly recommended.--Journal of Church and State This is an important contribution to Ricoeur studies by an able philosopher who has a keen appreciation for and excellent control of his subject.--James B. Sauer, St. Mary's University "Philosophy in Review " This is an important contribution to Ric?ur studies by an able philosopher who has a keen appreciation for and excellent control of his subject.....--James B. Sauer, St. Mary's University "Philosophy in Review " About the Author Bernard P. Dauenhauer is professor of philosophy at the University of Georgia. His most recent publications include Citizenship in a Fragile World (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 1996).