PART I ? Philosophical Hermeneutics 1. Introduction: What is hermeneutics? Why does hermeneutics matter? 2. The beginning of hermeneutic philosophy: Aristotle?s concept of phronesis [R. Dottori, ?The Concept of Phronesis by Aristotle and the Beginning of Hermeneutic Philosophy?, Ethics and Politics, 11, 1, 2009, pp. 301-310] PART II ? M. Heidegger, H.G. Gadamer, P. Ricoeur 3. Early Heidegger I [M. Heidegger, Basic Problems of Phenomenology. Winter Semester 1919/1920] 4. Early Heidegger II [T. Kisiel, ?Towards the Topology of Desire?, in Heidegger: The Man and Thinker; M. Heidegger, Being and Time, pp. 32-35, 89-90, 225-226, 272-275; R. Palmer, ?Heidegger?s Contributions to Hermeneutics in Being and Time?, in Hermeneutics: Interpretation Theory in Schleiermacher, Dilthey, Heidegger, and Gadamer] 5. Late Heidegger [Heidegger, Letter on Humanism; A Dialogue on Language between a Japanese and an Inquirer] 6. Gadamer I [J. Malpas, N. Keane, ?Gadamer in the English-Speaking World?, Journal of the British Society for Phenomenology 56, 1, 2025; R. Palmer, ?Gadamer?s Critique of Modern Aesthetic and Historical Consciousness?, in Hermeneutics: Interpretation Theory in Schleiermacher, Dilthey, Heidegger, and Gadamer; H.G. Gadamer, Truth and Method; J. Weinsheimer, Gadamer?s Hermeneutics: A Reading of Truth and Method Session I] 7. Gadamer II [H.G. Gadamer, Truth and Method; J. Weinsheimer, Gadamer?s Hermeneutics: A Reading of Truth and Method Session II] 8. Gadamer III [R. Bernstein, ?From Hermeneutics to Praxis?, The Review of Metaphysics 35, 4, 1982; T. George, ?The Capacity for Displacement?, in The Responsibility to Understand: Hermeneutical Contours of Ethical Life] 9. Ricoeur I [?Existence and Hermeneutics?, in The Conflicts of Interpretation; ?The Task of Hermeneutics? in From Text to Action; ?The Hermeneutical Function of Distanciation?, in From Text to Action] 10. Ricoeur II [?Hermeneutics and the Critique of Ideology?, in From Text to Action; ?Ethics and Culture: Habermas and Gadamer in Dialogue?, in Political and Social Essays; ?Science and Ideology?, in From Text to Action] 11. Gadamer and Ricoeur [M. Westphal, ?Dialectic of Belonging and Distanciation in Gadamer and Ricoeur?, in Gadamer and Ricoeur: Critical Horizons for Contemporary Hermeneutics] PART III ? Environmental Hermeneutics 12. D. Utsler, ?Environmental Hermeneutics and Environmental/Eco-Psychology: Explorations in Environmental Identity? in B. Treanor, M. Drenthen et al., Interpreting Nature: The Emerging Field of Environmental Hermeneutics 13. M. Drenthen, ?New Nature Narratives: Landscape Hermeneutics and Environmental Ethics? in B. Treanor, M. Drenthen et al., Interpreting Nature: The Emerging Field of Environmental Hermeneutics 14. Recapitulation and Conclusion
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Hermeneutics is the philosophical study of interpretation and meaning. It began as a method for interpreting religious texts but developed into a broader inquiry into how humans understand language, texts, symbols, and experiences. It assumes that interpretation is fundamental to human life and asks questions about context, intention, historical meaning, and competing interpretations. Hermeneutics matters because it helps us think critically, understand others more deeply, and justify why one interpretation may be more convincing than another. The course explores key texts in 20th-century hermeneutics, focusing on the ideas of Martin Heidegger, Hans-Georg Gadamer, and Paul Ricoeur. Students will critically examine the relationship between belonging and critical distance in interpretation, supported by secondary readings, and conclude by studying how hermeneutics is applied to contemporary environmental issues.
The student can understand ideas, concepts, and methodologies used in their field of specialisation to examine texts belonging to the field of philosophical hermeneutics. They can develop their critical thinking and participate in discussions of current issues (social, political, environmental) by using hermeneutics as a methodology. They can produce clear, well-structured texts on given philosophical topics.
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