Continental / Hermeneutic Method
Understanding takes place within history and tradition; philosophy interprets that situation.
What it claims
Hermeneutic approaches locate understanding within inherited language, tradition, and prior understanding rather than at a wholly neutral standpoint. They challenge the possibility of analyzing concepts outside all historical mediation. Gadamer argues that dismissing every prejudice as an obstacle is itself a prejudice: prior understandings can also make interpretation possible.
Nearby positions
Goes together with
Key thinkers
Hans-Georg Gadamer · Martin Heidegger · Paul Ricoeur · Wilhelm Dilthey · Jacques Derrida