Paul Ricœur and the Construction of the Possibility of Hospitality

By elucidating the inherent connection between autonomy and the vulnerability of the human subject, Ricœur employs phenomenology to assert that responsibility can only be attributed to an autonomous individual. Nonetheless, despite possessing autonomy, this act of attribution renders the subject somewhat passive and dependent. Thus, autonomy necessitates not only the subject’s strength but also their reliance on others. This article aims to demonstrate how the hermeneutic phenomenology of the capable human being enables us to establish potential hospitality through the intermediation of just institutions. In this regard, it appears that Ricœur diverges from Derrida’s perspective. While the latter deconstructs the gesture of hospitality, exposing the inherent violence in welcoming someone into our home, Ricœur argues that we must have a well-constructed and well-defined framework in place to be capable of embracing another in their inherent otherness. Hence, rather than highlighting the impossibility of absolute or unconditional hospitality, as Derrida does, the focus lies in constructing feasible hospitality within a vulnerable narrative identity.