Selfhood and Otherness
It is constituted through:
: Defined as "aiming at the 'good life' with and for others, in just institutions". Ethical vs. Moral
This is the heart of the book for literary scholars. Ricoeur introduces . A character in a story is both idem (a stable figure with a name) and ipse (constantly changing through the plot). Likewise, we narrate our own lives to synthesize disparate events into a coherent whole. The PDF is invaluable here for its detailed footnotes on Aristotle’s Poetics and Augustine’s Confessions .
To understand a person, Ricœur argues we must understand their actions. As noted by CliffsNotes , his framework requires us to ask: performed the action? What was done? Why ? How ? And where ?.