The world of the text and the text of the world

a theory of reading in Paul Ricoeur

Authors

  • Dr. Paulo César dos Santos Universidade Federal do Ceará https://orcid.org/0009-0003-0610-4409
    • Formal Analysis
    • Investigation
    • Methodology
    • Project Administration
    • Visualization
    • Writing – Original Draft Preparation
    • Writing – Review & Editing
    • Data Curation
    • Conceptualization

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36517/ep.v12i.96712.2026

Keywords:

Hemeneutics, Ricouer, Reading

Abstract

This research investigates the act of reading and reception theory in the work of Paul Ricoeur (1913-2005). In "Time and Narrative" and "From Text to Action," his hermeneutics highlights the relationship between the world of the text and the world it opens to the reader, postulating a central idea. Based on this hermeneutics, it would be fruitful to consider its use in school reading practices. For Ricoeur, reading is an act of reader autonomy, whose imagination, stimulated by the world opened by the text, projects new ways of inhabiting the world. In literary and historical texts, the fictional mobilizes the imagination, opening playful spaces and pressuring the imagination to assume a form, offering conditions for constructing the aesthetic. Imagination also provides another link with time, by anticipating something "currently absent at the base of the world."

Author Biography

  • Dr. Paulo César dos Santos, Universidade Federal do Ceará

    Holds a Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctorate in Social History from the Federal University of Ceará. During his Master's studies (2009-2011), he developed the research "Ceará Investigated: The Scientific Commission of 1859." He was a researcher at the Ceará Museum (2004-2007), serving as Coordinator of the Educational Center of the same institution (2010-2011). His doctoral research (2012-2016) focused on exhibitions of national industry in the 19th century. Since 2017, he has worked as a tenured teacher in the basic education system in Maranguape. Currently, he is conducting postdoctoral research on reading practices at the History Department of the Federal University of Ceará.

References

RICOEUR, Paul. Tempo e narrativa: a intriga e a narrativa histórica. São Paulo: Editora WM Martins Fontes, 2010a. Vol I

RICOEUR, Paul. Tempo e narrativa: a configuração no tempo na narrativa. São Paulo: Martins Fontes, 2010b, Vol II

RICOEUR, Paul. Tempo e narrativa: o tempo narrado. São Paulo: Martins Fontes, 2010c, Vol III

RICOEUR, Paul. Do texto á acção: ensaios de hermenêutica II. Rés-Editora: Porto, 1986

RICOEUR, Paul. Hermenêutica e ideologia. Editora Vozes: Petrópolis, RJ: 2008

RICOEUR, Paul. A memória, a história e o esquecimento. Campinas, SP. Editora da Uni-camp, 2007.

RICOEUR, Paul. A crítica e a convicção. Lisboa: Edições 70, 2005.

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Published

2026-11-07

Issue

Vol. 12 (2026)

Section

Original Article

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Dr. Paulo César dos Santos

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

The world of the text and the text of the world: a theory of reading in Paul Ricoeur. (2026). Em Perspectiva, 12. https://doi.org/10.36517/ep.v12i.96712.2026