Autobiography and narrative fictions Georges Gusdorf and Paul Ricoeur

Abstract

The aim of this article is to examine Georges Gusdorf 's theory of autobiography and Paul Ricoeur's hermeneutics approaches to temporality, and their links. Neither author has referred to the work of the other, although the similarities inbetween are clear. The question at the time is: what elements do these authors share concerning temporality? We assume that the developments of Gusdorf and Ricoeur are both based on the ontological dimension of the temporal structure, which is already present in the category of temporality of Wilhem Dilthey, from which they took several aspects. In order to evolv this work we turn to the comparative method. In the first place, we expose the main issues of Dilthey's philosophy in relation to the categories of temporality, connection and understanding. Subsequently, we examine Gusdorf ’s and Ricoeur’s developments related to these categories.