Translation, compromise, forgiveness. Exploring the role of original goodness in an ethics of capability

Abstract

While Ricoeur’s argumentation is philosophical, the symbols of religion nevertheless form an integral part of what his work investigated, and represent a meeting point between conviction and critique. Recent work has considered how the symbol of an originally good creation can shed light on Ricoeur’s philosophy. This paper builds from that proposal by considering the significance of the original goodness of creation for Ricoeur’s ethics of capability: in translation; through disagreements and compromise across economies of worth; and in the exchanges of memory transcended by forgiveness. These models operate within an ethics of recognition, where the original goodness of creation can be detected in human plurality in itself, as a presupposed horizon to enable constructive disagreement, and in an orientation to the good as a possibility of human freedom.