The Subjectivity of Effective History and the Suppressed Husserlian Elements in Gadamer’s Philosophical Hermeneutics

Authors

Sebastian Luft, Marquette UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Language

eng

Format of Original

36 p.

Publication Date

2007

Publisher

Philosophy Documentation Center

Source Publication

Idealistic Studies

Source ISSN

0046-8541

Abstract

This essay makes two claims. The first, exegetical, point shows that there are Husserlian elements in Gadamer’s hermeneutics that are usually overlooked. The second, systematic, claim takes issue with the fact that Gadamer saw himself in alliance with the project of the later Heidegger. It would have been more fruitful had Gadamer aligned himself with Husserl and the enlightenment tradition. following Heidegger in his concept of “effective history,” Gadamer risks betraying the main tenets of the enlightenment by shifting the weight from subjectivity to effective history as the “agent” in history. This is not a wholesale dismissal of Gadamer’s project, however. The problem in Gadamer’s effective history can be remedied by insisting, with Husserl, on the subjective character of effective history. Gadamer was right to criticize Husserl’s idea of a transcendental genesis, but went too far in giving up the idea of human subjectivity as the agent in history.

Comments

Accepted version. Idealistic Studies, Vol. 37, No. 3 (2008): 219-254. Publisher Link. © 2008 Philosophy Documentation Center. Used with permission.

Recommended Citation

Luft, Sebastian, "The Subjectivity of Effective History and the Suppressed Husserlian Elements in Gadamer’s Philosophical Hermeneutics" (2007). Philosophy Faculty Research and Publications. 12.
https://epublications.marquette.edu/phil_fac/12