Gadamer’s Philosophical Hermeneutics in the Mirror of Political Philosophy

Document Type : Original Research

Authors
F. Goldouz
M. Raayat Jahromi
Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran
10.58209/jpt.4.4.387
Abstract
The main problem of philosophical hermeneutics is the problem of understanding. Understanding is determined in what context, how, and by what components. Gadamer explains these influential components by emphasizing tradition and history and emphasizes the plurality of understanding by expressing the ontological characteristics of human understanding. From this perspective, subjectivist and non-pluralist approaches are denied. In this article, we aim to examine, based on the characteristics of the understanding process in Gadamer's hermeneutic approach, namely historicity, pluralism, eventfulness, practicality, and linguistics, its relationship and proportion with political totalitarianism and pluralism, and to assess the possibility of convergence or incompatibility of the foundations of philosophical hermeneutics with political pluralism as a pluralistic political approach and divergence or compatibility of philosophical hermeneutics with political totalitarianism as a non-pluralistic political approach. Although Gadamer cannot be considered a full-fledged political philosopher, it is possible to examine political systems and their epistemological foundations based on his hermeneutic approach and evaluate their relationship.

Keywords

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Philosophical Thought
Volume 4, Issue 4 - Serial Number 16
Autumn 2024
Pages 387-402