Hans-Georg Gadamer

The “Christian” Assumptions of Secular Hermeneutics

by Karl Hand

Crucible 4:1 (April 2012)

The relationship between Christian theology and secular hermeneutics is complex, and it is questionable whether many... more The relationship between Christian theology and secular hermeneutics is complex, and it is questionable whether many of the discourses that draw on hermeneutic theory are consistent with the presuppositions hidden beneath the surface. This article demystifies the highly theologised debate between monism and pluralism within the discipline of hermeneutics, and criticises the way that this theology has been done. From a Christian perspective that is free from cumbersome theological categories, a simple, authentic interpersonal ethic is the most appropriate way to approach texts. The implications for scholarly praxis are explored with specific reference to John C. Mellon’s ‘recovery hermeneutic’ reading of Mark’s gospel.

Theaterlandscapes - Understanding and Alterity at the Theater an der Ruhr, Germany

by Jonas Leonhard Tinius

published in: (2012) Imponderabilia. Cambridge Student Anthropology Journal (4): 17-21.

In this article, based on research conducted between June and October 2011 at the West German Theater an der Ruhr... more In this article, based on research conducted between June and October 2011 at the West German Theater an der Ruhr (hereafter, TaR), I intend to explore the notion of theater-landscapes, or theatrescapes (‘Theaterlandschaften’) coined by its director Roberto Ciulli and dramatic advisor Helmut Schäfer. What it refers to is the vision that theatre is, on the one hand, always a local (contextual) phenomenon referring to local situations, people and historical circumstances. At the same time, it can establish links between them. People from such diverse contexts can be brought together, on, behind and before the stage, they can speak to each other – indifferent of language, ethnic or religious background. For the TaR, the concept is more than mere recognition of difference; it has brought to the attention of the German and international public the theatre landscapes of a whole nexus of regions, such as Yugoslavia, the Silk Road, Arabia and North Africa and thereby initiated a dialogue not just between theatrical visions, but different ‘styles of life’, projects of artistic self-formation and social engagement. In this essay I argue that their vision of theatrescapes is not only an expansion of the German hermeneutic philosopher H.G. Gadamer’s notion of the fusion of horizons (‘Horizontverschmelzung’, 1960: 310), but also an anthropological quest for the appreciation of difference whilst recognising the commonalities of humankind. Doing so, I seek to point to the enriching implications of theatre for anthropological studies of the way people transform the cultural landscapes they inhabit.

MacIntyre a Gadamer

by Piotr Machura

Il n’y a pas de rapport sexuel: The Irresolvability of the Gadamer-Habermas Debate

by William J. Urban

class paper written Good Friday, April 6, 2012

Traditionalizing Philosophical Hermeneutics: Gadamer and Ricoeur on Textual Interpretation

by Jens Olesen

Introduction to the draft chapter. Comments welcome.

A Dynamic Conception of Humanity, Intercultural Relation, and Cooperative Learning

by Khosrow Bagheri Noaparast

Khosrow Bagheri Noaparast & Zohreh Khosravi. A dynamic conception of humanity, intercultural relation and cooperative learning. Intercultural Education, Volume 21, Issue 3, June 2010, pages 281-290

The main focus of this paper relates to the conceptualizations of human identity and intercultural relations needed... more The main focus of this paper relates to the conceptualizations of human identity and intercultural relations needed for cooperative learning (CL) to occur. At one extreme, some have argued that the relation between different cultures should be conceptualized in terms of incommensurability. At the other extreme, a standardization and unification along with the trend of globalization is supported at the peril of leaving pluralism aside. This paper argues that neither of the two extreme views can provide a satisfactory theoretical basis for CL at the intercultural level. Such a theoretical basis can be sought in providing a compromise between Donald Davidson's principle of charity and Gadamer's view of understanding in terms of fusion of horizons. Consequently, understanding is neither merely an inner nor an outer endeavour; rather it involves both. Cooperative learning in this framework implies that the material for learning is neither in the hands of the learner nor in those of the so-called "teacher". In fact, this material develops an intercultural relation by means of both poles of the relation. CL involves reciprocal support as well as reciprocal critique.

Language, work and hermeneutics

by Nicholas H Smith

pre-proof version, published in Andrzej Wiercinski ed., Gadamer’s Hermeneutics and the Art of Conversation, International Studies in Hermeneutics and Phenomenology Vol. 2, Berlin, LIT Verlag, 2011, 201-220

Overcoming Representationalism

by Nicholas H Smith

published in in Arto Laitinen and Nicholas H. Smith eds., Perspectives on the Philosophy of Charles Taylor, , Helsinki, Acta Philosophica Fennica, vol. 71, 2002, pp. 29-43. (includes introduction and chapter by Sami Philstrom)

Charles Taylor's opposition to representationalist conceptions of the tasks of philosophy is shared by several other... more Charles Taylor's opposition to representationalist conceptions of the tasks of philosophy is shared by several other philosophical movements, most notably pragmatism and contemporary advocates of Hegelian Idealism strongly influenced by pragmatism (eg Robert Pippin, Robert Brandom).The article considers what, if anything, the particular anti-representationalist strategy adopted by Taylor adds to these other forms of non-representationalism. In this way it attempts to throw new light on the significance of Taylor's project today.

Die Welt als Grund: Wittgenstein, Gadamer und James

by Núria Sara Miras Boronat

Vortrag, Sektion Philosophie des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts.
XXII Deutscher Kongress für Philosophie, LMU München, September 2011

Podcasts from the Politics of Interpretation conference on itunes; report on the conference (attached)

by Jens Olesen

Podcasts from an interdisciplinary conference organized by Jens Olesen, which was held at the Department of Politics and International Relations on 23 and 24 September 2011. The conference was funded by the Gerda Henkel Foundation, the Department of Politics and International Relations, the Mind Association, the Centre for Political Ideologies (CPI), and Princeton University Press.

For more information about the conference, please refer to the following website: http://www.politics.ox.ac.uk/materials/events/update4_finalprogramme_oxfordconference.pdf

Details of the recordings:

Podcast 1) Chair: Jens Olesen (Oxford). Speaker: Professor Michael Freeden... more Details of the recordings:

Podcast 1) Chair: Jens Olesen (Oxford). Speaker: Professor Michael Freeden (Oxford) Ideology Between Method and Meaning: The Gateway to the Political

2) Hermeneutics (Chair: Dr Reidar Maliks, Oxford)
Speakers: Dr Carsten Dutt (Heidelberg): On the Very Concept of Interpretation Professor Dieter Teichert (Konstanz/Lucerne): Hermeneutics: the Political,Politics, and Political Science,
Professor Jean Grondin (Montréal): Are There Political Consequences of Hermeneutics? Impromptus on the Modest ,Political Competence of Philosophy, Professor Paul H. Fry (Yale): Gadamer vs. Hirsch—Are There Consequences?

3) Contextualist Approaches (Chair: Professor Janet Coleman, LSE/NYU) Speakers: Professor Mark Bevir (Berkeley): The Contextual Approach: Then and Now, Professor John G. Gunnell (Albany/UC Davis): Challenging the Received View of
Thought and Language: Wittgenstein on Intention, Interpretation, and Context, Dr Michael L. Frazer (Harvard): The Ethics of Interpretation in Political Theory and Intellectual History

4) Feminist Interpretations (Chair: Professor Lois McNay, Oxford). Speakers:Dr Elizabeth Frazer (Oxford): Feminism and Interpretivism Revisited Professor, Terrell Carver (Bristol): Feminist Curiosities and Gender Troubles:
Power, Politics, Metaphor, Dr Pamela Anderson (Oxford): The Politics of Interpretation in French Feminist Philosophy

5) Deconstruction (Chair: Professor Mark Bevir, Berkeley). Speakers: Professor Joshua Foa Dienstag (UCLA): Interpretation, Language and Authority, Dr Lasse Thomassen (London): Aporia: The End of Politics?, Dr James Martel (San Francisco): Hobbes and Spinoza on the Hebrew Republic and the Deconstruction of Sovereignty

6) Postgraduate Student and Early Career Panel (Chair: Dr James Martel, San Francisco). Speakers: Jens Olesen (Oxford) On Derrida’s ‘Double Reading’ and the Politics of Deconstruction, Dr Charles Devellennes (Kent) Political Non-Methodology, JanaLee Cherneski (Oxford) Method and (Mis-)Application: Two Readings of Joseph Schumpeter, Dr Philipp von Wussow (Leipzig) Leo Strauss on ‘Cultural’ and ‘Political’ Writing

7) Philosophy, Law & Interpretation (Chair: Professor James Connelly, Hull). Speakers: Professor Al P. Martinich (Texas): Ideal Interpretation of Political Texts, Professor Terence Ball (Arizona): Lincoln’s Hermeneutics

8) Strauss and Esoteric Reading (Chair: Dr Michael L. Frazer, Harvard). Speakers: Professor David Weinstein (Wake Forest/Leipzig): Using and Abusing the Canon, Professor James Connelly (Hull): The Biter Bit, The Writer Writ: Some
Straussian Ironies.

In addition, there is a video podcast of Professor Rosen's (Boston) presentation on "Straussian Hermeneutics", which can be watched here (on the bottom of the page): http://www.politics.ox.ac.uk/index.php/podcasts/the-politics-of-interpretation-a-the-interpretation-of-politics.html

(Mis)Appropriations of Gadamer in Qualitative Research, Part I

by Marc Applebaum

Published in the Indo-Pacific Journal of Phenomenology, Volume 11 Edition 1, May 2011

Within the Husserlian phenomenological philosophical tradition, description and interpretation coexist. Teaching the... more Within the Husserlian phenomenological philosophical tradition, description and interpretation coexist. Teaching the practice of phenomenological psychological research, however, requires careful articulation of the differences between a descriptive and an interpretive relationship to what is given in qualitative data. If as researchers we neglect the epistemological foundations of our work, or avoid working through difficult methodological issues, our work invites dismissal as inadequate science, undermining the effort to strongly establish psychology along qualitative lines. The first article in this two-part discussion is a Husserlian investigation of the meaning of “method” for psychology as a human science. This investigation is undertaken in the light of some researchers’ appropriations of Gadamer’s philosophical hermeneutics in the service of non-methodical praxes. The second article will address some implications of the attempt to structure qualitative psychological research along “Gadamerian” lines, taking seriously the references to Gadamer’s work made by researchers such as van Manen and Smith.

Pourquoi Dworkin intéresse les philosophes?

by Benoit Frydman

published in Revue internationale de Philosophie, n° 233, 2005, pp. 291-302

This paper links Ronald Dworkin's theory of legal interpretation and the philosophical debate between J. Habermas and... more This paper links Ronald Dworkin's theory of legal interpretation and the philosophical debate between J. Habermas and H.G. Gadamer on interpretion, practical reason and tradition.

A la faveur du débat sur la rationalité des décisions judiciaires et des interprétations légales, c’est en réalité la question, fondamentale pour la philosophie moderne, des rapports entre la raison et la tradition qui se trouve posée. Cette question, qui a donné lieu à un débat d’une honnêteté exemplaire entre les deux grands philosophes allemands Hans Georg Gadamer et Jürgen Habermas, Dworkin a su la poser au bon niveau, celui d’une pratique judiciaire, accessible à la compréhension de chacun. En cela consiste l’apport important de Dworkin à la philosophie contemporaine, qui justifie probablement l’intérêt que celle-ci lui accorde en retour.

Bridging the Cultural Gap - Anthropology and Hermeneutics

by Filipe Verde

Paper presented at the II Jornadas Internacionales de Hermenéutica: La hermenéutica en diálogo con las ciencias humanas y sociales: convergencias, contraposiciones y tensiones – Buenos Aires, July 2011.

Marcel Duchamp. Readymade e differenziazione estetica

by Luca Vargiu

LANGUAGE: Italian.
Published in: «Annali della Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia dell’Università di Cagliari», XIX (N.S.), 2001, pp. 159-187.

Hermeneutics and perspectivism: Nietzsche's and Gadamer's concepts of horizon

by Saša Radojčić

Author and his meaning: Hirsch's critique of Gadamer's philosophical hermeneutics

by Saša Radojčić

Gadamerovo shvatanje tradicije

by Saša Radojčić

Reprivileging Reading: The Negotiation of Uncertainty

by Ira Allen

in Jennifer Holberg and Marcy Taylor (eds.), Pedagogy 12(1), p. 97-120.

Gadamer's Philosophical Hermeneutics and the Interpretivist Approach

by Francisco Javier Lopez Frias

Unpublished Paper presented in the Congress of the European Association for the Philosophy of Sport, May, 2011.

If we take a brief look at the present of the philosophy of sport we realize that the concept of interpretation is one... more If we take a brief look at the present of the philosophy of sport we realize that the concept of interpretation is one of the most important, and that´s the reason we say that nowadays the main and strongest approach within it is called interpretivism.

Although the concept of interpretation used here is mainly taken from Anglo-American authors, like Dworkin or Richard Rorty, it was Gadamer who introduced it as an essential concept in the History of Philosophy with his classic work Truth and Method. This paper seeks to examine the advantages and disadvantages of analyzing the question of sports ethics from the perspective of the father of  Philosophical Hermeneutics - that is to say from the point of view of Gadamer’s philosophy.

If we do this, we shall see that Gadamer puts us in a theoretical situation similar to the conventionalist one, (for example, because both of them give central importance to the concept of “ethos”), but, in my opinion, Gadamer’s thought has more critical power than the approach defended by D’Agostino in The Ethos of the Game. Consequently, I wonder whether taking the point of view of Gadamer’s thought will be enough to develop a suitable method to work on sport ethics. Would it have enough critical power (because we know that conventionalism doesn´t have it)? Could it be used to reform the interpretivist approach?

To sum up, on the one hand, I want to develop an hermeneutical methodology to work in sport ethics sensitive to the problems we have today in the world of sport and, on the other hand, I want this methodology that I seek to be as critical as possible, because if it does not have enough critical strength it can do nothing more than to conserve the current status quo.

Pożytek z Platona dla współczesnej kultury? Platońskie podstawy hermeneutyki Gadamera, Terminus 1/2010: 179-188

by Rafal Toczko