Comments on: Part I: An Introduction to Hans-Georg Gadamer

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Sat, 05 Dec 2009 09:42:53 +0000

[...] Nielsen introduces Hans-Georg Gadamer (Part I, [...]

By: Cynthia R. Nielsen

Cynthia R. Nielsen — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 03:50:34 +0000

Hi Brett,

I’m not familiar with Warnke’s argument regarding Habermas. Would you elaborate and give me the specifics of her claims? One of the best essays I’ve come across on Gadamer and the issue of relativism is Brice Wachterhauser’s essay in the _Cambridge Companion to Gadamer_.

Tacitus,

Of course Gadamer is not going to provide a foundationalist justification for legitimate prejudices or interpretations–he rejects the foundationalist project. However, he does speak of not forcing one’s projections on a text, but instead allowing the text as Other to “speak” and transform one’s own horizon. The model is one of “coming to an understanding” not one of scientific mastery where the text as inert “object” is mastered and has no voice. For a more detailed elaboration of what I mention here, see Charles Taylor’s article in the _Cambridge Companion to Gadamer_, “Gadamer and the Human Sciences.”

Best wishes,
Cynthia

By: Tacitus

Tacitus — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 01:16:49 +0000

You say that Gadamer is not a strong relativist. True, he doesn’t want to be… but does he succeed in answering his own “fundamental epistemological question” which is “what distinguishes legitimate prejudices from the countless others, which it is the undeniable task of critical reason to overcome?” (TM’89 p277) I’m not sure that he has the resources to do so.

By: Brett Williams

Brett Williams — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:53:10 +0000

Cynthia,

Thanks; I look forward to forthcoming posts. Question: Do you agree with Georgia Warnke equating Gadamer’s view of authority with Habermas’s defense of Enlightenment ideals? I concur that Gadamer seems to be more conservative than many credit. Would you even classify him as a relativist?

By: An Introduction to Gadamer « New Testament Interpretation

An Introduction to Gadamer « New Testament Interpretation — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 12:01:32 +0000

[...] Introduction to Gadamer Over at Per Caritatem, Cynthia Nielsen has begun an introduction to the work of Hans-Georg Gadamer. For as many as I have read, Cynthia’s posts are perennially interesting and clearly [...]