Hans-Georg Gadamer: A Biography

Yale Studies in Hermeneutics

by Jean Grondin, Joel Weinsheimer (Translator)

Hans-Georg Gadamer (1900-2002) was one of the greatest philosophers of our era. He was also at the center of some of the century’s darkest, most complex historical events, for he chose to remain in his native Germany in the 1930s, neither supporting Hitler nor actively opposing him, but negotiating instead an "unpolitical" position that allowed him to continue his philosophical work. In this magisterial book, Jean Grondin appraises Gadamer’s life and achievement. Drawing on countless interviews with Gadamer and his contemporaries, Gadamer’s personal correspondence, and extensive archival research, Grondin traces Gadamer’s life as an academician and the development of his ideas, placing them in the context of his times. He sheds light on the genesis and accomplishment of Gadamer’s major opus, Truth and Method, the bible of modern-day hermeneutics. And he addresses the question of Gadamer’s attitude and actions amid the catastrophe of Nazi Germany, painting a balanced portrait of a scholar who tried to preserve German culture and tradition in the face of an invasive menace.

Genres: Philosophy, Biography, Cultural, Nonfiction, Logic, Politics

528 pages, Hardcover

First published October 23, 1999

About the author

Jean Grondin, is a Canadian philosopher and professor. He is a specialist in the thought of Immanuel Kant, Hans-Georg Gadamer, and Martin Heidegger. His research focuses on hermeneutics, phenomenology, German classical philosophy and the history of metaphysics.

Reviews

[Song]

这本书是今年最重要的阅读目标之一，从3月开始，工作之余读了5个月才读完。以我的正常阅读速度来说，算是慢的，主要原因是有三：一，本书体量很大，有536页之多。二，书的内容比较高深广博，不仅包括伽达默尔这位德国20世纪代表性哲学家的生平，也包含他生存时代的描写，还有其学术思想评价和学人师友往来记述。三，解释学对我是一个全新的哲学领域，此前我没有相关的知识积累，因此相关的论述对我而言比较艰涩，所以我也刻意放慢阅读速度，边读边理解。因此，这本书陪伴我从初春到立秋，留下满满收获和无穷回味。

如同在我过往阅读经历中屡屡验证的那样，阅读的付出和收获成正比。《伽达默尔传》从任何角度而言，都是一部巨著。作者高超的写作技巧，和克制精准的写作风格，向读者介绍了20世纪德国哲学集大成者、杰出代表人物之一、“解释学”开创者伽达默尔的家世、生平、学问、思想、际遇和交游。读者不仅可以了解这位伟大的哲人，以及他背后的柏拉图所开创的西方2000年不曾中断的人文学术传统，还可以对“解释学”这门非分析性哲学的基本概念和意涵有一个初步的入门。最后，作者高明地把这一切嵌入到德国和欧洲20世纪的动荡历史之中，因为伽达默尔这位百岁老人不仅经历了这段历史，这段历史也成为他学问的背景和基础：

“事实上，并不是历史属于我们，而是我们从属于历史。在我们通过对过去的反思理解自身之前，我们以一种完全自发的方式在我们所生活的家庭、社会、国家中理解自身。个体的自身意识只是在历史生命流动的封闭圆圈中的微弱摇曳的光线。这就是为什么个体的前见比他的判断更好地构成了他存在的历史实在。”

这是我服膺的观念，也是我深深喜爱伽达默尔和“解释学”的原因。这是一门充满人文传统，温暖的学问，为“人为何为人”，“人何以立足于天地间”，提供了一个深深根植于伟大哲学传统中的思考角度。

[Michael]

A great insight into 102 years of philosophy.