"Paul Ricoeur is one of the most important critical thinkers to emerge in the twentieth century. His unique 'theory of reading' or hermeneutics extends far beyond the reading of literary works to build into a theory for the reading of 'life'. As a result of this, such works as Philosophy of the Will, The Rule of Metaphor, Time and Narrative and Oneself as Another have impacted upon the widest range of disciplines, from literary criticism and philosophy to history, religion, legal studies and politics." In this guide, Karl Simms explores Ricoeur's most influential ideas, touching upon such concepts as good and evil, psychoanalysis, hermeneutics, metaphor, narrative, ethics, politics and justice. Crucially, he also places these ideas in context and looks at their continuing impact, in this way introducing important trends in contemporary thought. Throughout this volume, the author prepares us for our own reading of Ricoeur's work, and this culminates in an extensively annotated guide to his major publications.