Hans-Georg Gadamer launched at the seminar Photo: SDU

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In mid-December 2024, the Book Launch of Hans-Georg Gadamer and the Seminar on Gadamer’s Philosophy took place in Ji’nan, Shandong Province.

 

Gadamer’s contribution

It is generally believed that Gadamer’s philosophical hermeneutics marks the fundamental innovation and transformation of the Western hermeneutic tradition. From the perspective of the history of Western philosophical thought, whether in the works of Heidegger or Gadamer, Western philosophy’s transition from the classical era to modernity has often involved engaging with and responding to the propositions of ancient Greek philosophy, thereby initiating new paradigms of philosophical inquiry. At least three volumes of Hans-Georg Gadamer, unveiled at this conference, focus on Gadamer’s studies of ancient Greek philosophy. According to Professor Nie Minli from Renmin University of China, Gadamer’s studies on ancient Greek philosophy, particularly his work on Platonic dialectics, have become a cornerstone of Platonic scholarship in the German-speaking world. These studies also form an integral part of Gadamer’s philosophical hermeneutics, in which interpretation is not merely a methodological concern but is deeply tied to the human endeavor of self-understanding. 

The intellectual connection between Heidegger and Gadamer, as mentor and student, has long been a focus of hermeneutics. Chen Zhiguo, a professor from the Phenomenology and Chinese Culture Research Center at Shandong University (SDU), analyzed their relationship within hermeneutics and phenomenology by proceeding from the “concept of time.” He argued that Gadamer tended to follow Heidegger’s mid-to-late thinking on the nature of time but placed greater emphasis on the primacy of the past in hermeneutics. Gadamer’s approach highlights the crucial role of time in phenomenological interpretations. 

Zhang Ke, a professor from the School of Philosophy at Guizhou University, examined Gadamer’s distinct perspectives on Heidegger’s report titled “Phenomenological Interpretations of Aristotle” at various stages of his career, noting a significant shift in Gadamer’s interpretation, moving from an early focus on the question of life to a later emphasis on the problem of being.

Heidegger’s 1964 essay “The End of Philosophy and the Task of Thinking” is often regarded as his proclamation of the end of classical philosophy. According to Zhao Weiguo, a professor from the School of Philosophy at Shaanxi Normal University (SNNU), Heidegger argued that the “philosophy of worldviews,” which observes the world theoretically from a vantage point outside it, is no longer viable because humans always exist within the world. In his early work, Heidegger revealed the temporal structure of “Dasein,” integrating ontology with hermeneutics, but his approach lacked a practical dimension. In contrast, Gadamer took up the task of orienting philosophy towards a practical direction.

China’s interpretive tradition

Zhang Nengwei, a professor from the School of Philosophy at Anhui University, believes that the philosophical reflections of hermeneutics provide a foundation for Eastern thought to engage with global philosophy. Rooted in lived experiences, Chinese thought and culture adopt a paradigm of practical philosophy rather than purely theoretical philosophy, striving for the unity of intellect, politics, and ethics. The linguistic structure of Chinese intellectual traditions similarly fosters universal understanding in interpretative practices, revealing and manifesting the universality and significance of things. These perspectives underscore the distinctive role and contributions of Chinese thought and culture within the broader landscape of world philosophy.

China has a long tradition of interpreting classics. Wang Xinchun, a professor from the School of Philosophy and Social Development at SDU, proposed that Gadamer addressed the hermeneutic pursuit of a text’s original meaning through the fusion of horizons. The interpretation of traditional Chinese classics has formed two paradigmatic approaches, namely the Han school and the Song school, indicating that the meaning of a text is neither static nor fixed. Instead, it continually emerges and unfolds during the process of interpretation, connecting the text to reality. Through the refinement of real-life contexts, these texts transform into timeless classics that remain vibrant and relevant across ages. This insight closely aligns with Gadamer’s hermeneutic philosophy. The interpretation of traditional Chinese classics merits renewed examination and excavation, enabling their transformation and innovation within a global cultural perspective.

Song Kuanfeng, a professor from the School of Philosophy at SNNU, suggested that contemporary Chinese metaphysical theories exhibit varying degrees of integration between Chinese and Western, as well as ancient and modern thought. Researchers’ holistic understanding of the history of Chinese and Western metaphysics inherently influences the reconstruction and value of metaphysics in contemporary China. However, certain viewpoints mischaracterize Hegel as the culmination of Western metaphysics. This perspective overlooks the transformations and evolution of Western metaphysics in the post-Hegelian period and fails to adequately account for the substantive differences within the history of metaphysics.

Debates over relativism

Since the rise of Western hermeneutic theory represented by Gadamer’s philosophy, it has garnered significant attention from researchers but has also faced inevitable criticism. One of the central points of contention is whether Gadamer’s hermeneutics falls into relativism.

Gadamer’s hermeneutics emphasizes the pre-structural nature of interpretation and the hermeneutic circle, while, through the fusion of horizons, highlighting the continuity of the text’s meaning, tradition, and history. Li Zhangyin, a professor from the School of Philosophy and Social Development at SDU, argued that although Gadamer emphasizes continuity to avoid relativism, this avoidance is limited to the level of inauthentic existence and still retains elements of relativity. To truly avoid interpretive relativism, scholars should focus on authentic existence from an existential perspective. Through authentic “Mitsein,” we can grasp the true meaning of a text’s historical existence and the continuity of tradition and history, thereby achieving a deeper level of interpretive certainty.

Cui Ping, a professor from the College of Philosophy, Law, and Political Science at Shanghai Normal University, argued that Gadamer’s hermeneutics succumbs to historical relativism in textual meaning because it fails to thoroughly examine the subjective capacities involved in the interpretive activity and overlooks the characteristics of the interpretation object. Cui advocated for reconstructing a new hermeneutics capable of transcending relativism and moving towards certainty, thereby providing a solid foundation for interpretive activities.

Li Shangxin, a professor from the Center for Zhouyi and Ancient Chinese Philosophy at SDU, noted that denying the original meaning of a text would undermine its irreplaceability, rendering interpretation meaningless. In contrast, the ontological pursuit of original meaning ensures more effective interpretation, thereby avoiding the dilemma of relativism. Different interpretations, therefore, carry distinct value.

The conference was co-sponsored by the School of Philosophy and Social Development at SDU and the Commercial Press.

Edited by YANG LANLAN