Pygmalion in Ricoeurian Colors: Bernard Shaw, Paul Ricoeur, and the Shared Nexus between the Capable Human Being and Mutual Recognition

Abstract

Listen

Translate article

ABSTRACT This article interprets Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion in terms of two key notions integral to Paul Ricoeur’s philosophical anthropology—the capable human being and mutual recognition—both of which have their analogues in the perennially acclaimed play. For Shaw and Ricoeur, the world would be a much better place if people practiced mutual recognition and its entailments. It is the best remedy, they believe, for healing the festering wounds that have brought civilization to the edge of the abyss. For both, mutual recognition encompasses human rights in all its dimensions and provides a sound framework for righting past injustices through reconciliation and forgiveness.