Ricoeur between Ithaca and the isle of the Phaecians
The aim of this contribution is to critically engage with the ricoeurian reading of the topic of recognition in the Homeric poem Odyssey. The hypothesis presented here is that the ricoeurian reading shows only one side of the coin, since it is almost solely focused on the recognition received by Ul...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Coimbra University Press
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Revista Filosófica de Coimbra |
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| Online Access: | https://impactum-journals.uc.pt/rfc/article/view/13468 |
| _version_ | 1797648771850436608 |
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| author | Silvia Pierosara |
| author_facet | Silvia Pierosara |
| author_sort | Silvia Pierosara |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
The aim of this contribution is to critically engage with the ricoeurian reading of the topic of recognition in the Homeric poem Odyssey. The hypothesis presented here is that the ricoeurian reading shows only one side of the coin, since it is almost solely focused on the recognition received by Ulysses when he comes back to Ithaca incognito. Ricoeur stresses the unilaterality of recognition, which is only directed to re‑establish Ulysses’ power as king. Being recognized as the king of Ithaca does not imply, so Ricoeur’s argument goes, to recognize those who are subjected to him, and is a mere way of exhibiting power. But there is another possible reading of the scenes of recognition in the Odyssey, even if Ricoeur does not take them into account. Indeed, another moment of the recognition story can be found in the Isle of the Phaeacians, and it cannot be traced back to the “will to power”, but, rather, to Ulysses’s fragility. When Demodocus, the poet at the court of the king Alcinoos, starts singing the story of the famous hero Ulysses, who is there incognito, Ulysses cannot hold back his tears, and in the end he discloses his own identity. Here, Ulysses does not look for recognition, instead recognition is granted to him in an unexpected way. This act of recognition reveals all the fragility of the hero, who discovers himself in the words of others, and understands that he depends upon them to be, to exist, and, in the end, to come back home. This sort of “recognition by fragility” is possible due to a narrative dimension where Ulysses is hosted, and whose configurative and refigurative power makes the hero able to name his feeling as a feeling of “nostalgia”.
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| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T15:36:50Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0887c05cd12849329611b6151b82eef2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0872-0851 2184-7584 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T15:36:50Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | Coimbra University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Revista Filosófica de Coimbra |
| spelling | doaj.art-0887c05cd12849329611b6151b82eef22023-10-26T14:45:55ZengCoimbra University PressRevista Filosófica de Coimbra0872-08512184-75842023-10-01326410.14195/0872-0851_64_12Ricoeur between Ithaca and the isle of the PhaeciansSilvia Pierosara0University of Macerata The aim of this contribution is to critically engage with the ricoeurian reading of the topic of recognition in the Homeric poem Odyssey. The hypothesis presented here is that the ricoeurian reading shows only one side of the coin, since it is almost solely focused on the recognition received by Ulysses when he comes back to Ithaca incognito. Ricoeur stresses the unilaterality of recognition, which is only directed to re‑establish Ulysses’ power as king. Being recognized as the king of Ithaca does not imply, so Ricoeur’s argument goes, to recognize those who are subjected to him, and is a mere way of exhibiting power. But there is another possible reading of the scenes of recognition in the Odyssey, even if Ricoeur does not take them into account. Indeed, another moment of the recognition story can be found in the Isle of the Phaeacians, and it cannot be traced back to the “will to power”, but, rather, to Ulysses’s fragility. When Demodocus, the poet at the court of the king Alcinoos, starts singing the story of the famous hero Ulysses, who is there incognito, Ulysses cannot hold back his tears, and in the end he discloses his own identity. Here, Ulysses does not look for recognition, instead recognition is granted to him in an unexpected way. This act of recognition reveals all the fragility of the hero, who discovers himself in the words of others, and understands that he depends upon them to be, to exist, and, in the end, to come back home. This sort of “recognition by fragility” is possible due to a narrative dimension where Ulysses is hosted, and whose configurative and refigurative power makes the hero able to name his feeling as a feeling of “nostalgia”. https://impactum-journals.uc.pt/rfc/article/view/13468fragilitynarrative configurationOdysseypowerrecognition |
| spellingShingle | Silvia Pierosara Ricoeur between Ithaca and the isle of the Phaecians Revista Filosófica de Coimbra fragility narrative configuration Odyssey power recognition |
| title | Ricoeur between Ithaca and the isle of the Phaecians |
| title_full | Ricoeur between Ithaca and the isle of the Phaecians |
| title_fullStr | Ricoeur between Ithaca and the isle of the Phaecians |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ricoeur between Ithaca and the isle of the Phaecians |
| title_short | Ricoeur between Ithaca and the isle of the Phaecians |
| title_sort | ricoeur between ithaca and the isle of the phaecians |
| topic | fragility narrative configuration Odyssey power recognition |
| url | https://impactum-journals.uc.pt/rfc/article/view/13468 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT silviapierosara ricoeurbetweenithacaandtheisleofthephaecians |