Hans-Georg Gadamer

Lore & Background

Gadamer was born in Marburg, Germany, the son of a pharmaceutical chemistry professor. He resisted his father's urging to pursue natural sciences and instead studied classics and philosophy at the University of Breslau and the University of Marburg, where he earned his doctorate under Paul Natorp. He later studied with Martin Heidegger, whose influence gave his thought its distinctive cast. Gadamer contracted polio in 1922 and was exempted from military service in both world wars. During the Nazi era, he was not politically active, did not join the Nazi Party, and was classified by the SS as neither supportive nor disapproving. He joined the National Socialist Teachers League in 1933 and signed the Vow of allegiance to Adolf Hitler. After the war, American occupation forces found him untainted by Nazism and named him rector of Leipzig University. He later held professorships at Goethe University Frankfurt and the University of Heidelberg, where he succeeded Karl Jaspers.

Reader's Guide

Gadamer's significance lies in his development of philosophical hermeneutics, which he presented in Truth and Method. He argued that truth and method are at odds, and that understanding is not a matter of applying objective methods but is an ontological process shaped by history, language, and dialogue. He critiqued both natural-science approaches to the humanities and traditional German hermeneutics. His work sparked a famous debate with Jürgen Habermas over the possibility of transcending history and culture to critique society. Gadamer also engaged with Jacques Derrida, though their dialogue was largely unsuccessful. His legacy includes influencing continental philosophy and hermeneutics, and he secured Habermas's first professorship. He received numerous honorary doctorates and lived to age 102, remaining academically active into his final years.

Did You Know?

• Gadamer's mother died of diabetes when he was four years old, which he later noted may have influenced his decision not to pursue scientific studies.
• He contracted polio in 1922 and was exempted from military service in both World War I and World War II.
• Gadamer provided shelter for nearly two years for the philosopher Jacob Klein in 1933 and 1934.
• He died at age 102 at Heidelberg's University Clinic and is buried in the Köpfel cemetery in Ziegelhausen.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"Hans-Georg Gadamer (February 11, 1900 – March 13, 2002) was a German philosopher of the continental tradition, most famous for his 1960 magnum opus, Truth and Method." — Hans-Georg Gadamer "People cannot live without hope; this is one of the statements I can defend without any reservations." — Hans-Georg Gadamer "Foreword to the Second Edition, p. xxiv." — Hans-Georg Gadamer "Being that can be understood is language." — Hans-Georg Gadamer