Abstract

This article searches in this pages that follow to reflect on the uptake of symbols and meanings of texts from the perspective of the French philosopher Paul Ricoeur. For this, as foundation brings up the discussion of the elements that make up its hermeneutic phenomenology of associative manner, aiming, in turn, to go beyond the task of capturing the meaning of texts and symbols. Thus, the research notes that the philosopher seems to want to apply a legitimate effort in understanding ourselves and, above all, in the world. However, this perspective, it is not easy to see relations between understanding and explanation, since his own notion of text has a certain recovery of the meeting remain regarding how to cope with such relationships. Finally, this article argues through existential notions, the ricouerian hermeneutical defense of philosophy as enlightening function, then going to be an attempt at expression and proclamation of the sense of the unsaid