Рецепція ідей «Герменевтики підозри» Поля Рікера у філософії релігії Меролда Вестфала

Abstract

This article analyzes the main ideas of Paul Ricoeur’s hermeneutics of suspicion and especially its reception in Merold Westphal’s philosophy of religion. The author shows that Ricoeur’s concept of hermeneutics can be used not only as a theory for understanding texts but also as an effective methodology of historical and philosophical analysis as well as the interpretation of various aspects of social life. The author also shows that the use of a hermeneutics of suspicions in relation to the field of religious phenomena is a powerful tool for deciphering and unmasking religious illusions and latent sources of human behavior. The criticism of religion by Freud, Marx, and Nietzsche is akin to the traditional Christian doctrine of the sinfulness of human nature. For this reason, the author proposes to consider the hermeneutics of suspicion as an effective means of reminding religious communities about the necessity of constant self-examination and self-criticism.