Beatrice Sofia Vitale

In the following chapter, we will explore the dynamics through which Paul Ricoeur attempts to conceive the death of the other as a «loved being» and the role of the «survivors» who witness and experience their death. In this regard, we will reflect on the link our author establishes between otherness and ipseity, which will lead us to examine the divergences and similarities with Levinas’s understanding of otherness and responsibility. We will also demonstrate how it is possible to continue the narrative of the beloved otherness that «is no longer» but nevertheless «has been» in the memory of «those who remain». Those who take responsibility for ensuring that the biological death of a loved one does not allow the latter to disappear into oblivion, but rather, remains alive through a narrative that finds its place in the memory of the living.

The meaning of life has been an unavoidable question throughout human thought. The question of this meaning arises directly from the experience of our mortality, from our condition as vulnerable animals. What meaning are we capable of grasping while dwelling in the midst of this finitude? Are we capable, in some way, of finding a fold or gap through which the light of transcendence can reach us? How do we recognise ourselves through the narratives we construct from this tension between finitude and transcendence? Philosophy has not ignored these questions, and clear examples of this are the proposals of Paul Ricoeur and Hans-Georg Gadamer. As key contributors to this dialogue, their thoughts will allow us to understand and weave together perspectives on narrative identity, death and transcendence as guiding threads. These reflections find refuge in anthropology and philosophical hermeneutics. Philosophical anthropology, which is unique, allows us a variety of styles and interpretations. Illuminating hermeneutic brings us closer to a careful reinterpretation of these questions from a new perspective... [1] This issue stems from the international conference Paul Ricœur and Hans-Georg Gadamer: narrative identity, death, transcendence. The conference took place at the Complutense University of Madrid on May 7, 8, and 9, 2024. It was organized by Beatrice Sofia Vitale, María Begoña Collantes Sampedro, and Jorge Benito Torres.