This refers to numerical or qualitative identity. It represents what is permanent in time, structural invariance, or genetic repetition. It answers the question, "What am I?" (e.g., your DNA, fingerprints, or anatomical structure).
This aspect of identity accounts for your capacity to keep promises, change your mind, and take responsibility for your actions across a lifetime.
How do we treat patients who have lost their "idem" identity (e.g., through severe dementia) but retain their "ipse" identity?
He summarizes his ethical vision in one famous, dense sentence:
Understanding Paul Ricoeur's "Oneself as Another": A Comprehensive Guide paul ricoeur oneself as another pdf
The central thesis of Oneself as Another is captured in its title: the self cannot be understood in isolation. Ricoeur argues that the self is fundamentally constituted by its relationship to the "other" (alterity). He famously rejects two extreme philosophical positions regarding the self:
Ricoeur integrates Immanuel Kant’s philosophy, acknowledging that the pursuit of the good life requires universal moral laws, duties, and obligations to ensure justice and prevent violence.
┌───────────────────────────────┐ │ HUMAN IDENTITY │ └───────────────┬───────────────┘ │ ┌─────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────┐ ▼ ▼ ┌──────────────────┐ ┌──────────────────┐ │ IDEM (Sameness) │ │ IPSE (Selfhood) │ ├──────────────────┤ ├──────────────────┤ │ • What I am │ │ • Who I am │ │ • Unchanging │ │ • Dynamic, shifting│ │ • DNA, fingerprint│ │ • Intentions, vows│ └──────────────────┘ └──────────────────┘ Idem-Identity (Sameness) What remains permanent over time.
"The selfhood of oneself implies alterity to such a degree that oneself cannot be thought without the other." This refers to numerical or qualitative identity
Ricoeur argues that narrative is essential to understanding self-identity. He claims that human beings make sense of their lives by constructing narratives that weave together their experiences, memories, and projects. This narrative identity (ipse) is not fixed or essential but rather evolves over time through the stories we tell about ourselves.
You will likely find numerous websites claiming to offer a free PDF download of Oneself as Another .
This is the densest section, engaging analytic philosophy (Strawson, Derek Parfit) and phenomenology (Husserl, Heidegger).
: This is the "who" of our identity. It doesn't rely on unchanging traits but on the capacity to keep a promise over time, even if we change dramatically as a person. 2. Narrative Identity: The Bridge This aspect of identity accounts for your capacity
Navigating a can be intimidating due to its rigorous vocabulary and extensive engagement with other philosophers (including Aristotle, Kant, Hegel, Levinas, and Heidegger). However, mastering this text offers invaluable insights for contemporary debates in:
This is where the book becomes a masterpiece of practical philosophy.
Ricoeur's central and most provocative idea is announced in its title: the self is not an isolated, unchanging substance, but is constituted as another . The self only comes to understand itself through its relation to what is other—other people, the world, and its own narrated history. This seemingly paradoxical phrase exposes the key to his entire practical philosophy of selfhood, ethics, and moral life.
Paul Ricoeur’s ( Soi-même comme un autre ), published in 1990 and translated into English in 1992, is widely considered his philosophical masterpiece. Originating as the 1986 Gifford Lectures , the book develops a comprehensive "hermeneutics of the self," exploring how we understand ourselves not through immediate intuition, but through the mediation of actions, narratives, and ethical relationships with others. Core Philosophical Themes