Dialogue and Suspicion: Ricœur, Ideology, and the Politics of Interfaith Understanding

Authors

  • Marianne Moyaert Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, KU Leuven

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/errs.2026.775

Keywords:

Enrique Dussel, Interreligious Dialogue, Coloniality, Eurocentrism, Power, Philosophy of Liberation, Vulnerability

Abstract

Ricoeur’s hermeneutical anthropology provides a framework through which the conditions for interreligious dialogue can be understood. According to his conception of the vulnerable self, dialogue is not simply an option for people; rather, human beings are dialogical creatures, and it is only through others that we can achieve self-understanding. However, this article argues that Ricoeur’s account risks universalising the dialogical condition in ways that do not fully consider how histories of coloniality continue to shape concrete encounters. By placing Ricoeur in conversation with Dussel’s philosophy of liberation, the article demonstrates that the universalised concept of the fractured self is still rooted in a Eurocentric genealogy of subjectivity. Dussel’s distinction between the “ego conquiro” and the “ego cogito” reveals the colonial underpinnings of modernity and shows how subjects engage in dialogue under unequal historical conditions. The article contends that dialogue cannot serve as a means of mutual transformation unless power asymmetries are addressed.

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Published

2026-07-30

Issue

Vol. 17 No. 1 (2026): Ricœur Across the World: Intercultural Receptions and Dialogues

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Marianne Moyaert

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