Hans-Georg Gadamer

History does not belong to us; but we belong to it.

Summary

Hans-Georg Gadamer (1900 - 2002) was one of the foremost philosophers of the twentieth century.

He is most remembered for his work on Philosophical Hermeneutics, a vision he set out most fully in his magnum opus Truth and Method. Gadamer's basic point in this book is that the way humans understand and live in the world can best be characterized as a process of constant interpretation.

His work was influential in the area of Anthropological Aspects and Etiologies of Aggression (see Psychological Aspects of Biodanza).

Ideas

• Philosophical Hermeneutics (Philosophy of Understanding) - Gadamer's goal was to uncover the nature of human understanding.
• Gadamer promoted the idea that each of us develops a set of biases or "prejudices" which colour our perception of the world and our way of responding to it, and that promoted the idea that our biases and beliefs are the product of our history,
• He proposed that understanding is an act of interpretation, is most effectively practiced by approaching a person, or a text, with an open mind - at the balance point between being completely open to the point of view of the other and at the same time staying in tune with one's own point of view,
• Maximal understanding will occur when one can be at this balance point - neither lost in the other person's belief system, nor caught up in one's own inner tirade of arguments and self-justification. Instead, there should be willingness to see life through the other person's eyes.