LANGUAGE AS THE FOUNDATION OF HERMENEUTIC EXPERIENCE IN HANS-GEORG GADAMER’S PHILOSOPHY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31392/cult.alm.2023.4.17Keywords:
language, dialogue, understanding, hermeneutic encounter, vocal apparatus, talkAbstract
At this tragic time in our national history, language has never been more important than now, performing the function of identifying a person in his or her belonging to the nation. Language is the united spiritual energy of the people, which is miraculously captured in certain sounds and in this image, and through the interconnection of its sounds is understandable to all who speak and excites approximately the same energy in them. Today, language is not only the most important attribute of any communication but also a universal means of cognition. However, the most relevant topic today is the study of language as an ontological basis of hermeneutic experience. An acclaimed scholar in the field of philosophical hermeneutics, Hans-Georg Gadamer, considers language as a universal medium where the process of understanding is carried out (Vielmehr ist die Sprache das universale Medium, in dem sich das Verstehen se/ber vollzieh). After all, today the world needs more than ever a dialog through which understanding is achieved. The language should be such that it is able to create an environment for dialogue in any confrontation, which becomes possible only if there is a necessary and sufficient argumentation. After all, interpretation is impossible without language, and language is impossible without thinking. This process takes place in the circle of dialectics – «questions – answers» (die Dialektik von Frage und Antwort geschlossener Kreis). Language is a means of voicing reasoning that opens the way to understanding. Understanding is impossible without speech, and speech is the search for and finding words, that is, a continuous process enriched by philosophical reflection. Hans-Georg Gadamer suggests looking at language in the context of intelligent speech. After all, the right word can save the lives of millions of people. The right speech, a rhetorical appeal, can provide an impetus both for the perpetrators to realize their guilt and for the individual to affirm the correctness of their moral choice. Therefore, language, as a means of hermeneutical dialog in a world of confrontation, hatred, and war, is a necessary tool for achieving peace.
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