Among the many memorable phrases coined by Paul Ricoeur, few are as significant as “the symbol gives rise to thought.” It expresses the conviction that symbols are not primitive leftovers of archaic cultures, but active sources of meaning that provoke reflection, interpretation, and philosophy itself. For Ricoeur, hermeneutics begins here: with the recognition that symbols are rich, layered, and productive of thought far beyond their immediate appearance.
What Ricoeur Means by Symbol
In Ricoeur’s usage, a symbol is more than a sign or a simple representation. A symbol is a layered expression—often drawn from myth, religion, or cultural traditions—that points to a meaning greater than itself. Unlike ordinary signs, which function in a one-to-one relation (e.g., a road sign indicates a specific instruction), symbols are inexhaustible. They evoke entire worlds of significance, combining literal and figurative dimensions.
For example, the biblical symbol of light does not simply denote physical illumination. It also connotes wisdom, truth, and the overcoming of evil. This symbolic richness opens pathways for interpretation that cannot be reduced to a single meaning.
The Productivity of Symbols
Ricoeur’s maxim—“the symbol gives rise to thought”—highlights the generativity of symbols. A symbol is not exhausted when it is explained; instead, it provokes deeper layers of reflection. The interpreter is led from the symbol’s surface meaning to its existential, ethical, or spiritual implications.
Thus, symbols are not static. They function as engines of interpretation, constantly inviting new readings. This is what Ricoeur calls their “surplus of meaning.” In this sense, hermeneutics is less about solving a puzzle and more about entering into a dialogue with a living source of thought.
From Symbol to Hermeneutics
Ricoeur situates his philosophy of the symbol within a broader hermeneutical framework. He distinguishes two key moments of interpretation, explanation and understanding:
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Explanation – analyzing the symbol in terms of its structure, origins, and use.
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Understanding – appropriating the symbol’s world of meaning into one’s own horizon of existence.
The passage from symbol to thought, then, is a dialectical movement. Symbols draw the interpreter in, but hermeneutics ensures that this engagement is both critical and reflective.
Symbols and the Sacred
Ricoeur often turned to religious and mythological symbols—of defilement, sin, purity, and redemption—as examples. In works like The Symbolism of Evil he showed how such symbols structure human experience of evil and guilt. Rather than dismiss them as outdated, Ricoeur demonstrated how they continue to inform our ethical and spiritual imagination.
For instance, the symbol of defilement communicates something about the human sense of vulnerability and transgression that abstract moral language struggles to capture. Here the symbol does not simply state a fact; it shapes consciousness and moral awareness.
hermeneutics of suspicion and Restoration
Yet Ricoeur also emphasized that symbols are not beyond critique. His hermeneutics of suspicion—inspired by Marx, Freud, and Nietzsche—reminds us that symbols can conceal ideology, repression, or power. Still, his principle that “the symbol gives rise to thought” ensures that suspicion does not end in cynicism. Even when critically examined, symbols can be re-appropriated, purified, and made productive again.
A Hermeneutics Born of Symbols
In contemporary contexts, Ricoeur’s insight into the power of symbols remains highly relevant. From political discourse to media, from religious traditions to cultural rituals, symbols continue to shape collective identities and ethical horizons. Recognizing that symbols give rise to thought allows us to approach them neither as relics nor as mere propaganda, but as dynamic mediators of meaning that require both critical vigilance and interpretive openness.
For Paul Ricoeur, philosophy begins not with abstract concepts but with the interpretation of symbols. “The symbol gives rise to thought” is both a methodological principle and an existential insight: symbols awaken reflection, sustain cultural memory, and open possibilities for ethical life.
In Ricoeur’s hermeneutics, then, symbols are not ornamental—they are foundational. They remind us that interpretation is always a journey from surface to depth, from literal to figurative, from the given to the possible. And in that journey, human thought itself is continually renewed.
Glossary of Paul Ricoeur’s Hermeneutics
See also:
The Development of Interpretive Anthropology: From Symbols to Meaning-Making
