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Ricoeur's early years were marked by two main facts. First, he was born to a devout Protestant family, making him a member of a religious minority in Catholic France. Second, his father died in WWI in 1915, when Ricoeur was only two years old. As a result he was raised by his Aunt in Rennes with a small stipend afforded to him as a war orphan. Ricoeur was a bookish, intellectually precocious boy whose penchant for study was increased by his family's protestant emphasis on bible study. Ricoeur received his license in 1933 from the University of Rennes and began studying philosophy at the Sorbonne in 1934, where he was influenced by Gabriel Marcel. In 1935 he agregatedIn France, the agregation is a civil service competitive examination for some positions in the public education system. The laureates are known as agreges . A similar system exists in other countries. There are actually two different agregations Secondary second in the nation, presaging a bright future despite his provincial origins.
WWII interupted Ricoeur's career, and he was drafted to serve in the French army in 1939. His unit was captured during the German invasion of France in 1940 and he spent the next five years as a prisoner of war. His detention camp was filled with other intellectuals such as Mikel Dufrenne which organized readings and classes sufficiently rigorous that the camp was accredited as a degree-granting institution by the VichyVichy is a spa and resort town of around 60,000 in central France, near Clermont-Ferrand, in the departement of Allier, of which it is a sous-prefecture''. Vichy is remembered as the capital of Vichy France. Vichy shower Vichy is also a kind of shower in government. During this period he read Karl JaspersKarl Theodor Jaspers ( February 23, 1883 February 26, 1969), a German psychiatrist and philosopher, had a strong influence on modern theology, psychiatry and philosophy. Biography Jaspers was born in Oldenburg in 1883 to a mother from a local farming comm, who was to have a great influence on him. He also began a translation of Edmund HusserlEdmund Gustav Albrecht Husserl ( April 8, 1859 April 26, 1938), philosopher, was born into a Jewish family in Prossnitz, Moravia (Prostejov, Czech Republic), Empire of Austria-Hungary. He is known as the "father" of phenomenology. He was a pupil of Franz's Ideas.After the war Ricoeur took up a position at the University of Strausbourg ( 19481948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). Events January January 1 Nationalisation of UK railways to form British Railways. Arab militants lay siege to the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. First day of the Ital- 19561956 is a leap year starting on Sunday. see link for calendar) Events January January 1 End of Anglo- Egyptian Condominium in Sudan. January 16 President Gamal Abdal Nasser of Egypt vows to reconquer Palestine January 26 1956 Winter Olympic Games open in) where published widely. In 1950Events January January 5 US Senator Estes Kefauver introduces a resolution calling for examination of organized crime in the USA January 6 The United Kingdom recognizes the People's Republic of China. The Republic of China severs diplomatic relations with he received his doctorate submitting (as is cutomary in France) two thesis: a 'minor' thesis which was a translation and commentary on Husserl's Ideas I (the first available in French) and a 'major' thesis that would later be published as Le Voluntaire et l'Involuntaire. As a result of his scholarly work, Ricoeur earned a reputation as an expert in phenomenology, which had become tremendously popular in France in the years after the war.
In 1956 Ricoeur took up a position at the Sorbonne as the Chair of General Philosophy. This appointment signaled Ricoeur's rise as one of France's most prominent philosophers. It was during this time that he wrote two Freud and Philosophy and The Symbolism of Evil, which cemented his reputation.
From 1965 to 1970 Ricoeur took up a position at the newly-founded University of Nanterre . Nanterre was an experiment in progressive education and Ricoeur hoped it would allow him the opportunity to escape the stifling atmosphere of the tradition-bound Sorbonne and create a university in accordance with his vision. Unfortunately, Nanterre become a hot bed of protest during the student uprisings of May 1968 and Ricoeur was derided as an 'old clown' and tool of the French government.
At the nadir of his popularity and disenchanted with life in France, Ricoeur took a position at the University of Chicago in 1970 where he would remain until 1985. As a result Ricoeur became acquainted with American philosophy and social science, making him one of the few thinkers equally at home with the French, German, and English-language intellectual scenes. The results were two of Ricoeur's most important and enduring works: The Rule of Metaphor and the three-volume Time of Narrative.
With Time and Narrative Ricoeur returned to France as an intellectual superstar, where he lives today. His recent work continues to cross-cut national intellectual traditions, and some of his most recent writing engages the thought of the American political philosopher John Rawls.