Hans-Georg Gadamer, Truth and Method

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Foa Dienstag
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Identity Politics ◽  
Human Relationship ◽  
Textual Interpretation ◽  
Post Modernism ◽  
Truth And Method ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
Political Value ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Hans Georg Gadamer

Hans-Georg Gadamer’s Truth and Method offers a distinctive account of the human relationship to language and history. The book had a transformative effect on many fields, including political theory. It offers a persuasive hermeneutic theory of what the obstacles to and possibilities for textual interpretation actually are and thus forms an account of the proper practice of political theory that is superior to the rival claims of historicism, Straussianism, or post-modernism. Simultaneously, it offers an account of the relationship of individuals to language-communities that recognizes their significance for cultures and persons without reifying their moral or political value. Gadamer’s account of language points toward openness and democracy rather than identity politics or nationalism.

Freedom without law

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 298-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harrison P Frye
Keyword(s):  
Social Norms ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
The Core ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

Untangling the relationship of law and liberty is among the core problems of political theory. One prominent position is that there is no freedom without law. This article challenges the argument that, because law is constitutive of freedom, there is no freedom without law. I suggest that, once properly understood, the argument that law is constitutive of freedom does not uniquely apply to law. It also applies to social norms. What law does for freedom, social norms can do too. Thus, I claim the question facing us is not the easy one of either law or social norms. Respecting this draws attention to the unique risks to our freedom introduced by both sets of norms.

Interpretation and the History of Political Theory: Apology and Epistemology

1982 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
pp. 317-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
John G. Gunnell
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Subject Matter ◽  
Careful Consideration ◽  
Political Ideas ◽  
Historical Investigation ◽  
History Of ◽  
Traditional Approaches ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
Textual Meaning ◽  
The Relationship

Recent challenges to traditional approaches and purposes for studying the history of political theory have raised questions about its constitution as both a subject matter and subfield of political science. Methodological arguments advocating what is characterized as a more truly historical mode of inquiry for understanding political ideas and recovering textual meaning have become increasingly popular. The relationship of these hermeneutical claims about historicity, such as that advanced by Quentin Skinner, to the actual practice of interpretation is problematical. Such claims are more a defense of a certain norm of historical investigation than a method of interpretation, and the implications of this norm for the reconstitution of the history of political theory require careful consideration.

The Political Theory Implicit in Social Casework Theory

1953 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 1076-1091 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Keith-Lucas
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
The United States ◽  
Local State ◽  
The Political ◽  
Government Function ◽  
The Past ◽  
National Governments ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

The political theory implicit in social casework theory can be defined, for purposes of this discussion, as the theory of the relationship between man and society on which professional social casework is consciously predicated, or that theory of the relationship which is logically implied by social casework practice. This theory is not often consciously articulated and we must look for it, therefore, in those presuppositions underlying casework theory which are frequently accepted uncritically, if not wholly unconsciously. This practice obviously cannot be carried on without basic (although perhaps not entirely conscious) presuppositions about what man is like and consequently about what society can or ought to do for him.The presuppositions underlying social casework theory, although important in any context, have acquired a new significance to the extent that social casework has increasingly become a government function. During the past twenty years literally millions of people in the United States have been brought into a new relationship with officials of their local, state, and national governments—namely, the relationship of client and social caseworker.

scholarly journals THE CONCEPT OF GOVERNMENT IN THE EARLY WORKS OF ABU HASAN AL-MAWARDI

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 89-104
Author(s):  
F. Q. TOJIDINOV
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Public Law ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Ideas ◽  
National Importance ◽  
Political Conditions ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

The relationship of politics to religion is a characteristic feature of Islam. The rules of divine law have to be unswervingly respected in all matters related to social, economic and political problems, or at least should not contradict the essence of Islamic principles. But despite this, the political doctrine of Islam — the caliphate, being the main medieval Muslim political thought, still caused many controversies due to the lack of regulations on the nature of power in the Qur’an and Sunnah. Many scholars of the Islamic world, understanding the origins of the problem, tried in every way to write the concept of Islamic political science. Even the existence of political ideas related to the authority in Islam in such Muslim writings on the caliph could not reveal and provide the theory of government from a religious point of view. These works are mostly devoted to the art of power and refl ect the norms of behavior of the ruling authorities and other representatives of the state in order to solve the necessary tasks of national importance. The Islamic experience of the thinkers who wrote these works justifi es the existence of an Islamic element in them. The art of government has been revealed to them since the emergence of Islamic practice in their lives. But there were theories of Islamic political science based on the Koran and the Sunnah. Al-Mawardi is one of the authors of books on Islamic political science. His books became very important for subsequent Muslim thinkers, this importance lies in the fact that the very followers who wrote works on political theory accepted al-Mawardi as an authority on this issue and continue to accept not only for the theory of the caliphate/imamate, but also because of his works related to public law. It is important to note that the work of al-Mawardi is the fi rst work, which presents the theory of the imamate/caliphate, taking into account the political conditions that surrounded him. 

Islamic Intellectualism

2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-30
Author(s):  
Norman K. Swazo
Keyword(s):  
Philosophical Hermeneutics ◽  
Movement Theory ◽  
Western Modernity ◽  
Textual Interpretation ◽  
Double Movement ◽  
Human Understanding ◽  
German Philosopher ◽  
Truth And Method ◽  
Hans Georg Gadamer ◽  
Qur'anic Interpretation

The Pakistani scholar Fazlur Rahman disagreed with the German philosopher Hans-Georg Gadamer on elements of philosophical hermeneutics as they bear upon interpretation of texts ‒ in this case, the interpretation of the Qur’ān. Rahman proposed a “double-movement” theory of Qur’ānic interpretation through which he hoped for the revival and reform of Islamic intellectualism in its encounter with Western modernity, but also with difference from Islamic orthodoxy’s conceptualization of ijtihād. In this paper, I examine Rahman’s concerns as they relate to Gadamer’s general approach to understanding history and textual interpretation. Rahman argued that if Gadamer’s thesis concerning the forestructure1 of human understanding is correct, then Rahman’s theory has no meaning at all. I conclude that there is reason to see Rahman’s theory as consistent with Gadamer’s philosophical hermeneutics, albeit with some modification given Rahman’s focus on psychologism and objectivity as part of his approach to Qur’ānic interpretation. It is the tyranny of hidden prejudices that makes us deaf to what speaks to us in tradition. Hans-Georg Gadamer, Truth and Method

Popular Music and the Modernist Dystopia: Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four

2021 ◽  
Vol 90 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-41
Author(s):  
Alex MacDonald
Keyword(s):  
Popular Culture ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Popular Music ◽  
New World ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Popular Songs ◽  
Post Modernism ◽  
Brave New World ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

This essay explores musical references in Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four, including music imagery and allusions to popular songs of the 1920s and 1940s. Huxley used the popular music of the Brave New World as an indicator of its emotional shallowness, represented by such immortal songs as “Hug Me Till You Drug Me, Honey.” Brave New World’s scorn for popular music, and for popular culture in general, situates Huxley’s famous dystopia as a high Modernist work. In Orwell’s case, implicit references to World War II hits such as “We’ll Meet Again” and “I’ll Be Seeing You” reflect ironically upon the relationship of Winston and Julia and their terrible situation at the end of the novel. His treatment of the musical thrush and the singing Prole laundrywoman plays a more hopeful note, and a positive attitude to popular songs and popular culture situates Nineteen Eighty-Four on the cusp of Post-Modernism. With respect to the critical discourse about hope and despair in these dystopian texts, the essay suggests that signs of hopefulness in Brave New World are very slight, although they do exist. The music of Nineteen Eighty-Four, and some other factors, lend support to the view that Orwell’s novel is not so despairing as it is sometimes made out to be.

Aggadic Speculation

2011 ◽  
pp. 144-152
Author(s):  
David Novak
Keyword(s):  
Jewish Tradition ◽  
Moral Law ◽  
Divine Origin ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
Political Value ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter addresses how the rabbis used the creative resources of theological inference to discover how the tradition charted universal moral law. This charting is particularly common when it comes to revelation, as the relationship of Jews and non-Jews to the Noahide law changed appreciably in the rabbinic mind. According to a famous aggadah, all people originally experienced the Noahide laws as divine directives. However, after Sinai, non-Jews no longer accepted the divine origins of these laws. Although gentiles no longer perceive a transcendent intention behind the laws, they are still obligated to adhere to them because of their social and political value. This powerful aggadah can be read in two ways: first, because non-Jews no longer hold to the divine origin of the Noahide laws but still observe them, the laws themselves must be rational, that is, capable of being understood and followed in the absence of direct revelation; second, if the rational element of the commandments are minimized, as they are by the medieval kabbalists, then the moral distance between Jews and non-Jews becomes abysmal. The chapter argues for the first view, which is philosophically more coherent and more in line with the developed Jewish tradition from rabbinic times to now.

Islamic Intellectualism

2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-30
Author(s):  
Norman K. Swazo
Keyword(s):  
Philosophical Hermeneutics ◽  
Movement Theory ◽  
Western Modernity ◽  
Textual Interpretation ◽  
Double Movement ◽  
Human Understanding ◽  
German Philosopher ◽  
Truth And Method ◽  
Hans Georg Gadamer ◽  
Qur'anic Interpretation

The Pakistani scholar Fazlur Rahman disagreed with the German philosopher Hans-Georg Gadamer on elements of philosophical hermeneutics as they bear upon interpretation of texts ‒ in this case, the interpretation of the Qur’ān. Rahman proposed a “double-movement” theory of Qur’ānic interpretation through which he hoped for the revival and reform of Islamic intellectualism in its encounter with Western modernity, but also with difference from Islamic orthodoxy’s conceptualization of ijtihād. In this paper, I examine Rahman’s concerns as they relate to Gadamer’s general approach to understanding history and textual interpretation. Rahman argued that if Gadamer’s thesis concerning the forestructure1 of human understanding is correct, then Rahman’s theory has no meaning at all. I conclude that there is reason to see Rahman’s theory as consistent with Gadamer’s philosophical hermeneutics, albeit with some modification given Rahman’s focus on psychologism and objectivity as part of his approach to Qur’ānic interpretation. It is the tyranny of hidden prejudices that makes us deaf to what speaks to us in tradition. Hans-Georg Gadamer, Truth and Method

Ethnic Identity Politics and Contemporary Experience

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Sarah Terwse Shittu ◽  
Ogbedu Michael
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
Identity Politics ◽  
Host Country ◽  
Home Country ◽  
Human Society ◽  
New Host ◽  
Contemporary World ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

This paper investigates the complex developments of identity in contemporary Africa considering that the emergence of identity politics is a consequence of the extraordinarily rapid and profound upheavals and transformations of human society at the turn of the 21stcentury. Contemporary world has considerably opened up and extraordinarily shrunk in specific historical circumstances. The act of migration particularly, is one that profoundly changes the individual, transforming the relationship of the migrant with his home country and new host country and then impacting their identity as a result. The expanding use of the term, identity politics, is scrutinized in this work and attempts are made at delineating its unwieldy parameters. This in turn reflects the socio-political composition of African societies.

scholarly journals Testing the Ethos of Tolerance: Chin’s Interpretation of Rorty’s Political Theory

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 358-369
Author(s):  
Matthew Festenstein
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Cultural Politics ◽  
Political Engagement ◽  
Democratic Citizenship ◽  
Ontological Turn ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract In The Practice of Political Theory, Clayton Chin puts Richard Rorty’s pragmatism in dialogue with a range of contemporary political theorists, particularly focusing on how his notion of cultural politics can speak to the ontological turn in political theory. This article focuses on Chin’s claim that Rorty’s cultural politics provides an ethos of inclusive and tolerant political engagement. After exploring the basis for Chin’s interpretation, it identifies three tensions in this ethos, in relation to character of its demandingness, the fissure between ethnocentric and egalitarian engagement, and the relationship of this ethos to the virtues and procedures of democratic citizenship.

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