Paul Ricoeur

About

Renowned French philosopher who combined phenomenological description with hermeneutics.

Before Fame

He served the French Army in 1939, interrupting his career. He was a prisoner of war for five years, during which time he met fellow intellectual Mikel Dufrenne.

Trivia

He was awarded the John W. Kluge Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Human Sciences.

Family Life

He was raised in a Protestant home, and his father was killed in World War I. He married his childhood friend Simone.

Associated With

His work, titled Freud and Philosophy, asserted that Friedrich Nietzsche was one of the masters of the School of Suspicion.