Paul Ricoeur (1913-2005) was one of the outstanding Frenchphilosophers of the 20th century and his work is widely read in theEnglish-speaking world. This unique volume comprises the lecturesthat Ricoeur gave on Plato and Aristotle at the University ofStrasbourg in 1953-54. The aim of these lectures is to analyse the metaphysics of Platoand Aristotle and to discern in their work the ontologicalfoundations of Western philosophy. The relation between Plato andAristotle is commonly portrayed as a contrast between a philosophyof essence and a philosophy of substance, but Ricoeur shows thatthis opposition is too simple. Aristotelian ontology is not asimple antithesis to Platonism: the radical ontology of Aristotlestands in a far more subtle relation of continuity and oppositionto that of Plato and it is this relation we have to reconstruct andunderstand. Ricoeur?s lectures offer a brilliant analysis of the greatworks of Plato and Aristotle which has withstood the test of time.They also provide a unique insight into the development ofRicoeur?s thinking in the early 1950s, revealing that, evenat this early stage of his work, Ricoeur was focused sharply onissues of language and the text.