Conceptual deep structures and the hermeneutics of Hans-Georg Gadamer
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Date
2000-08
Authors
Vásquez, Victor Manuel Morales
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Free State
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to explain the notion of conceptual deep structures as a
philosophical construct and to investigate such structures in the hermeneutics of Hans-
Georg Gadamer. Conceptual deep structures involve: key-conceptualizations of a
philosophical nature (such as the belief that all knowledge is wholly culturally
determined); root metaphors determining the content of a specific philosophical
discourse (such as viewing culture as a kind of organism); and determining ideological
paradigms (such as positivism or post-modernism). The research will attempt to
investigate the role of these factors in the thought of Gadamer - something which has
never been attempted in this form before. It is also important to note that a specific
analytical methodology is at stake here, which may eventually be implemented to
determine the ground structure of other philosophical discourses.
Although many studies of Gadarrier's thought (Gadamer is a major hermeneutic theorist
of the previous century) have been undertaken, this particular analysis will achieve a
unique philosophical perspective on the determining factor of his thought. In the process,
important modifications to two other philosophical theories of conceptual deep structures,
namely those of Dooyeweerd and Vollenhoven, will be motivated. These latter theories
are influential in the circles of Christian philosophy across the world.
The central hypothesis of the research is that it will be possible to explain the
hermeneuties of Gadamer as deriving from certain determining factors which one can
assume to be of an a priori nature (e.g. the guiding role that metaphors have been shown
to play in concepts and theories). The methodology implemented here has been used
successfully to analyse the thought of other philosophers, and it seemed that fruitful
results in the case of Gadamer were also possible. The findings of this research may
affirm some interpretations of Gadamer's thought, while others may become suspect.
More importantly, a new analytical tool in philosophical interpretation (the elucidation of
conceptual deep structures) will be tested and in the process further refined.
Description
Keywords
Gadamer, Hans Georg, 1900-2002, Hermeneutics, Philosophers -- Germany, Dissertation (M.A. (Philosophy))--University of the Free State, 2000