261
When viewing historical objects
we should not view time as a gulf to
be bridged, says Gadamer. Its distance
is filled with the continuity of tradition,
which sheds light on our understanding.
See also: Immanuel Kant 164–71 ■ Georg Hegel 178–85 ■ Martin Heidegger 252–55 ■ Jürgen Habermas 306–07 ■
Jacques Derrida 308–13 ■ Richard Rorty 314–19
THE MODERN WORLD
that Gadamer later explored in his
book Truth and Method. Gadamer
goes on to point out that our
understanding is always from the
point of view of a particular point in
history. Our prejudices and beliefs,
the kinds of questions that we
think are worth asking, and the
kinds of answers with which we
are satisfied are all the product
of our history. We cannot stand
outside of history and culture, so
we can never reach an absolutely
objective perspective.
But these prejudices should not
be seen as a bad thing. They are,
after all, our starting point, and our
current understanding and sense
of meaning are based upon these
prejudices and biases. Even if it
were possible to get rid of all our
prejudices, we would not find that
we would then see things clearly.
Without any given framework for
interpretation, we would not be
able to see anything at all.Conversing with history
Gadamer sees the process of
understanding our lives and our
selves as similar to having a
“conversation with history.” As
we read historical texts that have
existed for centuries, the differences
in their traditions and assumptions
reveal our own cultural norms and
prejudices, leading us to broadenand deepen our understanding
of our own lives in the present.
For instance, if I pick up a book by
Plato, and read it carefully, I might
find not only that I am deepening
my understanding of Plato, but also
that my own prejudices and biases
become clear, and perhaps begin to
shift. Not only am I reading Plato,
but Plato is reading me. Through
this dialogue, or what Gadamer
calls “the fusion of horizons”, my
understanding of the world reaches
a deeper, richer level. ■Because an experience
is itself within the whole
of life, the whole of life
is present in it too.
Hans-Georg GadamerHans-Georg Gadamer Gadamer was born in Marburg
in 1900, but grew up in Breslau,
Germany (now Wroclaw, Poland).
He studied philosophy first in
Breslau and then in Marburg,
where he wrote a second doctoral
dissertation under the tutelage of
the philosopher Martin Heidegger,
who was an enormous influence
on his work. He became an
associate professor at Marburg,
beginning a long academic career
which eventually included
succeeding the philosopher Karl
Jaspers as Professor of Philosophy
in Heidelberg in 1949. His most
important book, Truth andMethod, was published when
he was 60. It attacked the idea
that science offered the only
route to truth and its publication
brought him wider international
fame. A sociable and lively man,
Gadamer remained active right
up until his death in Heidelberg
at the age of 102.Key works1960 Truth and Method
1976 Philosophical Hermeneutics
1980 Dialogue and Dialectic
1981 Reason in the Age of
Science