Circulus Vitiosus Existentiae: Ricoeur’s Circular Hermeneutics of Evil

Abstract

This chapter offers a reading of Ricoeur’s Symbolism of Evil wherein Ricoeur identifies a circular, repetitive structure in the experience of evil. First, Ricoeur’s method of hermeneutic phenomenology is explained in comparison to Martin Heidegger. Next, the circular structure of experienced evil is drawn out by tracing the implicit repetition within the symbol of guilt. As interpreted by Ricoeur, the experience of guilt moves from responsibility through rigid adherence to rules and laws, resulting in an impasse: the responsibility for failing to rigidly adhere to all the rules and laws. After revealing this circular repetition, a closure to the seemingly indefinite recurrence of evil is proposed through an analysis of Ricoeur’s interpretation of Eve and the serpent in the Adamic myth. In conclusion, a possible Hegelian interpretation of Ricoeur is contested, and the descriptive strength of Ricoeur’s analysis is defended without categorizing his analysis as a proper theodicy.