Hans-Georg Gadamer: A Biography (Yale Studies in Hermeneutics) [Hardcover]

Jean Grondin (Author), Professor Joel Weinsheimer (Translator)

Book Description

Series: Yale Studies in Hermeneutics | Publication Date: April 10, 2003

Philosopher Hans-Georg Gadamer (1900-2002) was at the centre of some of the century's darkest, most complex historical events, for he chose to remain in his native Germany in the 1930s, neither supporting Hitler nor actively opposing him, but negotiating instead an "unpolitical" position that allowed him to continue his philosophical work. In this work Jean Grondin offers an appraisal of Gadamer's life and achievement. Drawing on interviews with Gadamer and his contemporaries, Gadamer's personal correspondence and archival research, Grondin traces Gadamer's life as an academician and the development of his ideas, placing them in the context of his times. He sheds light on the genesis and accomplishment of Gadamer's major opus, "Truth and Method", the bible of modern-day hermeneutics. He also addresses the question of Gadamer's attitude and actions amid the catastrophe of Nazi Germany, seeking to paint a balanced portrait of a scholar who tried to preserve German culture and tradition in the face of an invasive menace.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book has no rival and is an extraordinary achievement. Thanks to exemplary research, the facts of Gadamer's life can be understood fully in historical context." Donald G. Marshall, University of Illinois at Chicago "Grondin's book is a welcome and gracious gift to those of us eager to understand as much as possible about one aspect of Gadamer's hermeneutic philosophy, that is, the man himself who was its occasion." Francis J. Ambrosio, Georgetown University

About the Author

Jean Grondin, professor of philosophy at the University of Montreal, is the author of Introduction to Philosophical Hermeneutics (0 300 07089 6, pb. [pound]10.95), published by Yale University Press. A close pupil of Gadamer, he has been one of the most important voices in the field of hermeneutics. Joel Weinsheimer is professor of English at the University of Minnesota and general editor of the Yale Studies in Hermeneutics.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 528 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press; First Edition edition (April 10, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300098413
• ISBN-13: 978-0300098419
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,297,076 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Truth And Tedium!, May 8, 2003

By 

Jeff Bricker (Columbus, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hans-Georg Gadamer: A Biography (Yale Studies in Hermeneutics) (Hardcover)

The author of this thick biography, Jean Grondin, has always been one of the most astute and informed commentators on the subject of philosophical hermeneutics.

Prospective readers need not be put off by this volume's bulk (478 pages) since almost 140 pages are devoted to scholarly apparatus which most of us will ignore. That leaves only 338 pages of actual text to read (plus a few pages of pictures to enjoy). In this era of bloated biographies, we can be thankful for Professor Grondin's restraint. The average intelligent reader will probably find herself skimming chapters 2 - 5 (Gadamer's ancestry and youth) and chapters 10 - 12 (academic politics in the mid-twentieth century) thereby shortening this book by an additional 115 pages. That leaves about 200 pages of interesting reading about Gadamer, Heidegger, Nazis, poets, Habermas, Derrida, Plato, phenomenology, human finitude, etc.

Not surprisingly, Professor Grondin does a fine job of sorting out the influences of others in the formation of Gadamer's conception of hermeneutics and in communicating the gist of his major work, TRUTH AND METHOD. Unfortunately, Grondin never gets around to telling us much about his subject's life-long enthusiasm for the arts (Why did Gadamer love Rilke's poetry? What visual artists was Gadamer excited about?).

In short, this is a good biography of an important twentieth century philosopher, but not a great one (for a great one order Ray Monk's WITTGENSTEIN : THE DUTY OF GENIUS).