Hans-Georg Gadamer - Philosophical Works (11 books)

HANS-GEORG GADAMER (1900-2002) was a German philosopher and the decisive figure in the development of twentieth century hermeneutics. He had an enormous impact on areas from aesthetics to jurisprudence, acquiring a reputation in Germany, and elsewhere in Europe, that went far beyond the usual confines of academia.

Gadamer developed a distinctive and thoroughly dialogical approach, grounded in Platonic-Aristotelian as well as Heideggerian thinking, that rejected subjectivism and relativism, abjured any simple notion of interpretive method, and grounding understanding in the linguistically mediated happening of tradition. His work can be seen as concentrated in four main areas: the first, and clearly the most influential, is the development and elaboration of a philosophical hermeneutics; the second is the dialogue within philosophy, and within the history of philosophy, with respect to Plato and Aristotle in particular, but also with Hegel and Heidegger; the third is the engagement with literature, particularly poetry, and with art; and the fourth is what Gadamer himself terms "practical philosophy" encompassing contemporary political and ethical issues.

He is best known for his magnum opus, TRUTH AND METHOD (1960). The treatise was not meant to be a programmatic statement about a new hermeneutic method of interpreting texts but rather a description of what we always do when we interpret things (even if we do not know it): "My real concern was and is philosophic: not what we do or what we ought to do, but what happens to us over and above our wanting and doing."

In addition to his work in hermeneutics, Gadamer is also well known for a long list of publications on Greek philosophy. Much of his early life centered around studying Greek thinkers, Plato and Aristotle specifically. In the Italian introduction to TRUTH AND METHOD, Gadamer said that his work on Greek philosophy was "the best and most original part" of his career.


The following books are in PDF format unless otherwise indicated:

* THE BEGINNING OF KNOWLEDGE (Continuum, 2001). Translated by Rod Coltman.

* THE BEGINNING OF PHILOSOPHY (Continuum, 1998). Translated by Rod Coltman.

* A CENTURY OF PHILOSOPHY: A Conversation with Ricardo Dottori (Continuum, 2003). Translated by Rod Coltman and Sigrid Koepke.

* DIALOGUE AND DECONSTRUCTION: The Gadamer-Derrida Encounter (SUNY, 1989). Edited by Diane P. Michelfelder and Richard E. Palmer.

* DIALOGUE AND DIALECTIC: Eight Hermeneutical Studies on Plato (Yale UP, 1980). Translated and edited by P. Christopher Smith.

* THE GADAMER READER: A Bouquet of the Later Writings (Northwestern UP, 2007). Edited by Richard E. Palmer.

* HEGEL'S DIALECTIC: Five Hermeneutical Studies (Yale UP, 1976). Translated by P. Christopher Smith.

* HEIDEGGER'S WAYS (SUNY, 1994). Translated by John W. Stanley.

* THE IDEA OF THE GOOD IN PLATONIC-ARISTOTELIAN PHILOSOPHY (Yale UP, 1986). Translated by P. Christopher Smith.

* PHILOSOPHICAL HERMENEUTICS (California, 1976). Translated and edited by David Linge.

* TRUTH AND METHOD (Continuum / Bloomsbury, 2004). Second revised edition. Translated by Joel Weinsheimer and Donald G. Marshall. -- PDF + ePUB