Opmerkings oor Hans-Georg Gadamer se begrip van die “Wirkungsgeschichte” (Reflections on Hans-Georg Gadamer\'s “Wirkungsgeschichte”)

Abstract

Hans-Georg Gadamer\'s contribution to hermeneutics can be summarized in a nut shell in his thesis that there is a “wirkungsgeschichtliche” dimension in all understanding. In this article I make four remarks on the meaning of this concept. Firstly: the universal claim of Gadamer does not claim to describe the totality of understanding, but only an essential and forgotten dimension. Secondly: there are three ascending perspectives on art, tradition and speaking that constitute together the Wirkungsgeschichte. Every one of them demonstrates that understanding is not primarily an action of objectification, but a happening of participation. Thirdly: there are similar thinking patterns by different philosophers that demonstrate that Gadamer\'s concept of the Wirkungsgeschichte is not so new and strange. Lastly: Gadamer\'s use of Aristotle\'s concept of phronesis or judgement (practical reasoning) is the concretization of the Wirkungsgeschichte and his great contribution to hermeneutics.

S. Afr. J. Philos. Vol.21(4) 2002: 274-290