The Analysis of the Ontological Structure of the Self and Self-understanding in Heidegger in the Light of Ricoeurs' Theory of Metaphor

Barakati, Seyyede Akram

doi:10.30465/os.2026.52729.2065

The Analysis of the Ontological Structure of the Self and Self-understanding in Heidegger in the Light of Ricoeurs' Theory of Metaphor

Document Type : Research Paper

Author

seyyede akram barakati

Assistant Professor, Department of Islamic Philosophy and theology, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies, Ferdowsi University, Mashhad, Iran.

10.30465/os.2026.52729.2065

Abstract

Introduction

In this study, we will examine the views of Heidegger and Ricoeur on the subject of the self and self-understanding, in the field of hermeneutics and phenomenology. Despite the differences in their views, we will try to express the common aspects. We will show that how self and self-understanding, in the views of both philosophers, are realized in the context of language and the relationship with the other, and through these horizons have metaphorical character.

In explaining self-understanding, Ricoeur emphasizes the long route of semantic analysis of language and interpretation of human actions and works, rather than the short path of ontology of Dasein that Heidegger proposed. By establishing a connection between the interpretative feature of metaphor in the domain of meaning and language, with the existential structure of the self and self-understanding, we can 1- speak about the ontological foundation of the possibility of semantic interpretation of Dasein and 2- show how Heidegger's ontology can respond to hermeneutical problems in the light of attributing the metaphorical feature to the existential structure of Dasein.

Materials and Methods
The research method in this study is comparative, analytical, interpretative and critical. By referring to specialized philosophical texts, including the works of the two philosophers, as well as texts by commentators and critics, an attempt has been made to collect materials related to the subject. Then, based on the latest interpretative perspectives on the issue, we have tried to adopt a new approach and take a step forward in solving the problems related to it.

Discussion and Result

1- Heidegger and Ricoeur on Metaphor:

In Ricoeur’s idea, metaphor is not just a form of metonymy through which the polysemy of words is expanded and transformed. The act of metaphor is the finding of similarity among differences, by which new meanings are created. Although Heidegger also welcomes the semantic ambiguity resulting from metaphor, he considers metaphor to be inherently metaphysical and in conflict with the essence of language. However, according to Ricoeur, Heidegger has constantly used metaphor in his texts. Ricoeur does not accept Heidegger's opposition to metaphor and places metaphor in relation to ontology.

2-Realization of the self and self-understanding in the horizons of language and the relationship with others:

In the analysis of "self" and "self-understanding", Heidegger's emphasis is on ontology, and Ricoeur's emphasis, while respecting Heidegger's ontology, is on epistemology and semantic analysis of language. In Ricoeur's idea, self-understanding and the relationship of the self with others would be realized through the interpretation of actions and personalities in narrative. But in Heidegger’s thought, Dasein understand itself through being and others, in a direct and immediate way, and within the horizon of language. If we show the metaphorical nature of language and the metaphorical nature of our relationship with the other, in the thought of both philosophers, then due to the semantic interpretability of metaphor, we can also speak of the long path of self-understanding in Dasein.

3-The Metaphorical Character of Language and the self:

In Ricoeur's thought, we will discuss "metaphorical nature of language" based on the process of understanding and imagination; and in Heidegger's thought, based on three concepts: 1) Riss, 2) logos, and 3) naming.

The unity of identity and difference, and semantic creation are two important features of metaphor. Ricoeur considers imagining and reasoning as a metaphorical and linguistic process. In addition, he refers to the relationship between metaphor and narrative; but, when he discusses narrative identity, does not mention metaphorical identity. We showed the metaphorical characteristic of identity by clarifying metaphorical nature of language.

Heidegger shows the joining-separating nature of language with the word Riss. Riss gathers disparate elements while maintaining their differences. Heidegger, also, regards “naming” as a metaphorical process and in his idea every name is a metaphor. He considers logos to be the essence of understanding and language. Logos allows something to be seen “as” something else. This structure of seeing something as something else (as if) expresses the metaphorical feature.

4-The metaphorical character of the relationship with the other and the self:

In Oneself as Another, Ricoeur suggests, from the outset, that selfhood implies otherness. Therefore, in answering the question of how the "other" can penetrate the sameness of the "self," it must be said that it is precisely the metaphorical structure of the self that can disclose the unity of sameness and difference. In Ricoeur's view, humans are united and connected with others through the function of logos. And the metaphorical feature of logos can well justify the unification and universalization of language as the horizon in which the relationship of the self with others and with the world takes place.

In Heidegger's thought, Dasein, find itself within the world and in relationship with others. language, which has a metaphorical character, is the horizon in which Dasein interrelates with others. The nature of this relationship is also metaphorical. Moreover, the sameness of a thing with itself while distinct from other beings, can show the metaphorical essence of things.

Conclusion

We have shown that, based on Ricoeur's theory of metaphor, the structure of the self and "self-understanding" within the horizons of language and the relationship with the other, has metaphorical feature. By considering the power of creativity and innovation in metaphor, we can justify the dynamism and continuous change in them. This creativity would affect the world of reality in various ways. It also can define the origin of freedom and the possible nature of human being.

In fact, self-understanding is always a kind of self-construction and self-realization. If we attribute metaphoricity to the structure of Dasein’s existence, then we can consider a mechanism for Dasein’s direct intuition of existence and of itself. In this way, by considering the structure of Dasein as metaphorical, we have established a unity between the short and direct path in Heidegger’s ontology and the long route in Ricoeur’s epistemology. The dialectic between these two approaches in the discussion of self-understanding, would represent a hermeneutical circle between the two realms, which constantly continue until their boundaries fade.

Keywords

self

self-understanding

metaphor

language

otherness

Heidegger, Martin (1389a). poetry, language, thought. Translated by Abbas Manochehry. Tehran: Moula. (in persian).

Heidegger, Martin (1389b). Being and Time, trans. Siavash Jamadi. Tehran: Qoqnoos. (in persian).

Heidegger, Martin (1392). Basic Problems of Phenomenology. Trans. Parviz Ziashahabi, Tehran: Minooyekherad. (in persian).

Heidegger, Martin (1396). The Concept of Time. Translated by Ali Abdollahi. Tehran: Nashre Markaz. (in persian).

F. McNicolls, Christopher (1998). Self-Understanding and the Care for Being: Heidegger' s Ethical Thought. phd thesis in McMaster University Hamilton.

Heidegger, Martin (1967). What is Thinking?. trans. W.B.Barton and Vera Deutsch. Chicago: Henry Regnery.

Heidegger, Martin (1968). What Is Called Thinking?. trans. J. Gelenn Gray. New York: Harper & Row.

Heidegger, Martin (1969). Identity and Difference. trans. Joan Stambaugh. NewYork: Harper and Row.

Heidegger, Martin (1975). “Poetry, Language, Thought”. in The Origin of the Work of Art. ed. Albert Hofstadter. New York: Harper and Row.

Heidegger, Martin (1991). The principle of Reason. trans. Reginald Lilly. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Heidegger, Martin (1996). Being and Time. trans. Johan Stambaugh. state university of NewYork.

Jervolino, Domenico (1990). The Cogito and Hermeneutics: The Question of The Subject in Ricoeur. trans. Gordon Poole. Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Ricoeur, Paul (1974). The conflict of interpretations. ed. D. Ihde, Evanston: Northwestern University Press.

Ricoeur, Paul (1978), “The Metaphorical Process as Cognition, Imgination, and Feeling”. in Critical Inquiry. Vol.5, No.1.

Ricoeur, Paul (1977). The Rule of Metaphor. trans. Robert Czerny with Kathleen McLaughlin and John Costello. SJ,University of Toronto Press: Toronto Buffalo London.

Ricoeur, Paul (1994). “Imagination in Discours and in Action”. in Rethinking Imagination. Gillian Robinson and John Rundell (eds.). London: Routledge.

Ricoeur, Paul (1984), Time and Narrative. vol.1. trans. K. McLaughlin and D. Pellauer. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Ricoeur, Paul (1992). Oneself as Another. trans. Kathleen Blamey. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Tomkinson, Fiona (2012), “From Metaphor to the Life-World: Ricoeur's Meraphoric Subjectivity”. in From Ricoeur to Action. ed. Todd S. Mei and David Lewin. Continuum Studies in Continental Philosophy.