Hans-Georg Gadamer (Gadamer Hans-Georg)

(1900-2002)
Born February 11, 1900 in Marburg. He studied philosophy, history, literary theory, art history and evangelical theology at the universities of Breslau and Marburg. In 1922 he defended his doctoral dissertation under the guidance of Paul Natorp. In 1923 he became acquainted with Heidegger, who taught at the University of Marburg. Supplement education studying classical philology, and in 1929 defended his dissertation on Plato Filebe. From 1939 to 1947 - Professor at the University of Leipzig (in 1946-1947 - Rector). After two years of teaching in Frankfurt took the chair, which previously led Karl Jaspers, the University of Heidelberg. After retirement (1968) taught as a visiting professor at universities in the U.S. (until 1989).

The scale of the philosopher Gadamer as defined mainly by his labor Truth and Method (Wahrheit und Methode, 1960). In this work he refers to the problem posed Dilthey philosophical foundation humanities, but is considering it (under the influence of Heidegger and Hegel) in some aspect. If Dilthey saw in 'understanding' human-specific knowledge (as distinct from the natural sciences, for which the basic procedure - 'explanation'), then for Heidegger's 'understanding' appears in a different capacity - as the experience of human life in its truth.

Gadamer takes up Heidegger's formulation of the question, but puts it in the context of mainstreaming Dilthey, asking about 'own' truth of human cognition. Under development of hermeneutics is neither a teaching about the art of understanding, . like Schleiermacher and Dilthey, . nor self-revelation of human existence in its being, . like Heidegger, . it is a philosophical clarification of mind, . activities of which we are dealing in human cognition, . and indeed in every particular act of understanding,
. This is a philosophical clarification of the mind, in turn, Gadamer interprets as movement and the implementation of the most historic traditions, thereby adhering to the Hegelian philosophy of spirit, unfolding in history.

To more accurately describe the implementation and experience true tradition, Gadamer has resorted to a model of art. As in the field of art, . historical knowledge of truth is revealed not only in scientific judgments, . made by an imaginary distance to the object and secured by certain rules of the method, . but also because of the involvement of the knower in the integrity of the historical process, . by knowing who and 'committed',
. Aesthetic, as well as historical truth is the truth that make, carry. This is manifested by Gadamer, in a so-called. effective stories (Wirkungsgeschichte). The point here is primarily on developing the impact of ancient texts: their understanding of the flows due to the 'prejudice', . doreflektivnym representations of our 'predponimaniya', . that, . eventually, . already set by these texts and traditions of their subsequent interpretation,
. But the challenge of the text, leads, according to Gadamer, the emergence of a particular situation, when the submission of our predponimaniya can be questioned and subjected to testing on the 'efficiency'. And where the text is understood in the course of a productive interaction ( 'game') of our predponimaniya, on the one hand, and a clear, distinct learning content of the text - on the other hand, continues the tradition. The basic idea of Gadamer, thus, is that the tradition should be clarified anew each time, and only under this condition it is performed, fulfilled. Tradition and its renewal are inseparable from each other, their mutual identity is manifested in acts of understanding, each time re-committed.

From this set Gadamer did not refuse, and in his other writings, although in later tradition as the treatment was completed in a space receded into the background. The focus has shifted to sections of the Truth and method, directly related to the philosophy of language. Language, according to Gadamer, is a continuous game 'the question - the answer', as expressed both in understanding and interpreting texts, and in the dialogue between individuals.

His systematic reasoning Gadamer a persistent practical test. He is intensely involved in interpretation of poetry (HцІlderlin, Goethe, Stefan George, Paul Celan), and philosophical classics (Heidegger and Hegel, but first and foremost thinkers of Greek antiquity - Plato, Aristotle).

Gadamer died in Heidelberg, March 13, 2002.

Exposure to Gadamer for modern philosophical thought, diverse. Gadamer, primarily through the mediation of Habermas, impact on social philosophy, his controversy with Jacques Derrida came in the context of deconstruction. Richard Rorty, reducing critical accounts of analytic philosophy, encouraged its readers as an example of Gadamer 'teach philosophy'. Philosophical hermeneutics in its interpretation of Gadamer made a model of philosophy, conscious of his deep connections with the classical tradition and at the same time not denying the uniqueness of the current situation.