In Search of Meaning

This paper presents my position on the nature of our interpretations of works of art, with reference to the thought of Paul Ricoeur. In one of my books, I attempted to trace the development of his whole philosophy. My focus there was his conception of the human subject and the interpretive processes through which that subject "finds itself." It seems to me that this issue of self-interpretation has a profound relationship to questions about the aesthetic experience and interpretation of art. In order to explain so, I need to introduce some of the basic features of Ricoeur's view of self-interpretation.