Philosophical Hermeneutics: Between Heidegger and Gadamer!

Abstract

This article discusses philosophical topics and issues related to the view of the hermeneutics of facticity coined by Heidegger and of the philosophical hermeneutics developed by Gadamer. Besides exploring some common threads that form the philosophical project of both thinkers, it elaborates on the idiosyncrasies of philosophical hermeneutics in order to point out some ruptures with Heidegger's philosophy. Ultimately, however, the article intends to underpin the thesis that hermeneutics is fully nurtured and justified on the basis of the dialectical-dialogical tensioning between the two approaches discussed, according to the assumption that one perspective is developed against the backdrop of metaphysics and the other one against the backdrop of practical philosophy as proposed by Aristotle. Keywords: hermeneutics, facticity, metaphysics, practical philosophy, Heidegger, Gadamer.