Jean Grondin - Böcker

Jean Grondin completes the first history of metaphysics and respects both the analytical and the Continental schools while transcending the theoretical limitations of each. He reviews seminal texts by Parmenides, Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus, and Augustine. He follows the theological turn in the metaphysical thought of Avicenna, Anselm, Aquinas, and Duns Scotus, and he revisits Descartes and the cogito; Spinoza and Leibniz's rationalist approaches; Kant's reclaiming of the metaphysical tradition; and post-Kantian practice up to Hegel. He engages with twentieth century innovations that upended the discipline, particularly Heidegger's revival of the question of Being and the rediscovery of the metaphysics of existence by Sartre and the Existentialists, language by Gadamer and Derrida, and transcendence by Levinas. Metaphysics is often dismissed as a form or epoch of philosophy that must be overcome, yet by promoting a full understanding of its platform and processes, Grondin reveals its cogent approach to reality and foundational influence on modern philosophy and science.By restoring the value of metaphysics for contemporary audiences, Grondin showcases the rich currents and countercurrents of metaphysical thought and its future possibilities.

Jean Grondin completes the first history of metaphysics and respects both the analytical and the Continental schools while transcending the theoretical limitations of each. He reviews seminal texts by Parmenides, Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus, and Augustine. He follows the theological turn in the metaphysical thought of Avicenna, Anselm, Aquinas, and Duns Scotus, and he revisits Descartes and the cogito; Spinoza and Leibniz's rationalist approaches; Kant's reclaiming of the metaphysical tradition; and post-Kantian practice up to Hegel. He engages with twentieth century innovations that upended the discipline, particularly Heidegger's revival of the question of Being and the rediscovery of the metaphysics of existence by Sartre and the Existentialists, language by Gadamer and Derrida, and transcendence by Levinas. Metaphysics is often dismissed as a form or epoch of philosophy that must be overcome, yet by promoting a full understanding of its platform and processes, Grondin reveals its cogent approach to reality and foundational influence on modern philosophy and science.By restoring the value of metaphysics for contemporary audiences, Grondin showcases the rich currents and countercurrents of metaphysical thought and its future possibilities.

In this wide-ranging historical introduction to philosophical hermeneutics, Jean Grondin discusses the major figures from Philo to Habermas, analyzes conflicts between various interpretive schools, and provides a persuasive critique of Gadamer's view of hermeneutic history, though in other ways Gadamer's Truth and Method serves as a model for Grondin's approach.Grondin begins with brief overviews of the pre-nineteenth-century thinkers Philo, Origen, Augustine, Luther, Flacius, Dannhauer, Chladenius, Meier, Rambach, Ast, and Schlegel. Next he provides more extensive treatments of such major nineteenth-century figures as Schleiermacher, Böckh, Droysen, and Dilthey. There are full chapters devoted to Heidegger and Gadamer as well as shorter discussions of Betti, Habermas, and Derrida. Because he is the first to pay close attention to pre-Romantic figures, Grondin is able to show that the history of hermeneutics cannot be viewed as a gradual, steady progression in the direction of complete universalization. His book makes it clear that even in the early period, hermeneutic thinkers acknowledged a universal aspect in interpretation—that long before Schleiermacher, hermeneutics was philosophical and not merely practical. In revising and correcting the standard account, Grondin's book is not merely introductory but revisionary, suitable for beginners as well as advanced students in the field.

The first English-language biography of one of the leading intellectuals of the twentieth centuryHans-Georg Gadamer (1900–2002) was one of the greatest philosophers of our era. He was also at the center 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 magisterial book, Jean Grondin appraises Gadamer’s life and achievement.Drawing on countless interviews with Gadamer and his contemporaries, Gadamer’s personal correspondence, and extensive 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. And he addresses the question of Gadamer’s attitude and actions amid the catastrophe of Nazi Germany, painting a balanced portrait of a scholar who tried to preserve German culture and tradition in the face of an invasive menace.

This book provides an introduction to the historical sources of philosophical hermeneutics as it has come to fruition in the work of Heidegger and Gadamer.

If in its simplest form, hermeneutics is a quest for understanding, then part of that quest will always include striving to understand being and the meaning of being. This open access book takes that ambition seriously, arguing that hermeneutics and metaphysics, so central to philosophical thought but so rarely put in tandem, are two complementary fundamentals of human existence.Metaphysical Hermeneutics puts forward the argument for a hermeneutical metaphysics in service of philosophy’s basic aim: to make sense of our experience. Jean Grondin builds his argument for this combined discipline around the idea of ‘sense’ – a theme that is both hermeneutical and metaphysical. What we seek to glimpse is not just a figment of the mind but always the meaning of something. Grondin calls on one of the founding figures of contemporary hermeneutics Hans-Georg Gadamer to test his theories, singling out the metaphysical dimension of Gadamer’s ideas and questioning his seeming embrace and rejection of that dimension. Rooting these questions in the human search for meaning is a major contribution to the scope and resources of hermeneutic philosophy.The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by the Department of Philosophy at the University of Montreal.

If in its simplest form, hermeneutics is a quest for understanding, then part of that quest will always include striving to understand being and the meaning of being. This open access book takes that ambition seriously, arguing that hermeneutics and metaphysics, so central to philosophical thought but so rarely put in tandem, are two complementary fundamentals of human existence.Metaphysical Hermeneutics puts forward the argument for a hermeneutical metaphysics in service of philosophy’s basic aim: to make sense of our experience. Jean Grondin builds his argument for this combined discipline around the idea of ‘sense’ – a theme that is both hermeneutical and metaphysical. What we seek to glimpse is not just a figment of the mind but always the meaning of something. Grondin calls on one of the founding figures of contemporary hermeneutics Hans-Georg Gadamer to test his theories, singling out the metaphysical dimension of Gadamer’s ideas and questioning his seeming embrace and rejection of that dimension. Rooting these questions in the human search for meaning is a major contribution to the scope and resources of hermeneutic philosophy.The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by the Department of Philosophy at the University of Montreal.

The ideas of the German philosopher, Hans-Georg Gadamer have had considerable influence both in their own right as the leading modern exposition of philosophical hermeneutics and interpreting the works of Heidegger, Plato and Hegel. This work covers the trail of Gadamer's thought. Taking 'Truth and Method' (1960, translated 1975) as the axis of the interpretation of Gadamer's thought, Jean Grondin lays out the key themes of the work - method, humanism, aesthetic judgement, truth, the work of history - with exemplary clarity. Gadamer's concerns are situated in the context of traditional philosophical issues, showing, for example, how Gadamer both continues, and significantly modifies, the philosophical problem as it begins with Descartes and advances rather than simply follows Heidegger's treatment of the relationship of thinking and language. In this way Grondin shows how the issues of philosophical hermeneutics are relevant for contemporary concerns in science and history.

The ideas of the German philosopher, Hans-Georg Gadamer have had considerable influence both in their own right as the leading modern exposition of philosophical hermeneutics and interpreting the works of Heidegger, Plato and Hegel. This work covers the trail of Gadamer's thought. Taking 'Truth and Method' (1960, translated 1975) as the axis of the interpretation of Gadamer's thought, Jean Grondin lays out the key themes of the work - method, humanism, aesthetic judgement, truth, the work of history - with exemplary clarity. Gadamer's concerns are situated in the context of traditional philosophical issues, showing, for example, how Gadamer both continues, and significantly modifies, the philosophical problem as it begins with Descartes and advances rather than simply follows Heidegger's treatment of the relationship of thinking and language. In this way Grondin shows how the issues of philosophical hermeneutics are relevant for contemporary concerns in science and history.

"Die Beiträge dieses Buches sind Wirkungen von Gadamers Denken am Ende dieses und an der Schwelle des neuen Jahrhunderts. In diesem Sinne war es beabsichtigt, daß die Autoren vorwiegend einer Generation angehören, die, an Gadamers Lebensalter gemessen, die der Enkel und nicht die der Söhne ist; es sollte um Antworten auf Gadamers Denken gehen, die noch nicht Philosophiegeschichte geworden sind. Das breite internationale Spektrum hingegen hat sich von selbst ergeben. Mit ihm zeigt sich wieder einmal, daß die philosophische Hermeneutik schon längst keine bloße affaire allemande mehr ist. ...Alle, die Hans-Georg Gadamer kennen, wissen, daß er seine Philosophie nicht nur vertritt, sondern lebt. Die Autoren des Bandes haben das in mehr oder weniger großer Intensität erfahren dürfen und sind dankbar dafür. Mit dieser Gabe zu Gadamers hundertstem Geburtstag wollen sie im eigenen Nachdenken versuchen, seiner philosophischen Lebendigkeit zu entsprechen."Die Herausgeber im Vorwort

Was wäre die Philosophie ohne die Religion? Sie ist sicherlich aus ihr entstanden, denn die Idee eines von wohlwollenden Mächten oder mit Vernunft regierten Kosmos wurde von der Religion vorgebildet, bevor sie zum stillschweigenden Leitfaden der philosophischen Wahrheitssuche wurde. Aus ihr nährte sich die Evidenz eines Endziels des Lebens, das die Philosophie auch übernahm, als sie selber eine Art Weisheit ausarbeiten wollte, wohl wissend, dass alle Weisheitslehren aus der Religion stammten. Freilich wehrte sich die Philosophie von Anfang an gegen das, was ihr in der religiösen Überlieferung als willkürlich oder anstößig erschien. Ihre Beziehung zur Religion war also immer die einer Entmythologisierung, die bei gewissen Denkern konsequent zu einer systematischen Religionskritik entwickelt wurde. Damit wendeten aber die Philosophen auf die Überlieferung ein Vernünftigkeitskriterium an, das von der Religion selbst vorgespielt wurde: Es gibt kaum eine Religion, die nicht mithilfe dieses Maßstabes eine frühere oder andere hätte kritisieren, ablösen oder vollenden wollen. Es erscheint schwer, ja unmöglich, eine oder gar die Religion überhaupt anzuprangern, wenn man nicht selber eine bessere in Aussicht stellt.Die meisten Philosophen haben immer anerkannt, dass die Weisheitslehre der Religion der Philosophie vorausging. Deshalb gingen ihre Denkansätze stets mit einer behutsamen Religionsphilosophie einher, die heute nur vergessen wird und deren Grundzüge Jean Grondin rekapituliert. Denn die Religion bietet seit alters her die stärksten, meist geglaubten und diskutierten Antworten auf die Frage nach dem Sinn des menschlichen Treibens, und sie tut es mit unendlich mehr Wirksamkeit als jede Philosophie. An diese der Religion innewohnende Philosophie und ihre sinnvolle Seinserfahrung, die zu denken gibt, will dieses Buch erinnern.

Aus Rezensionen zur 1. Auflage: "Die gründliche Gadamer-Biographie von Jean Grondin ist [...] frei von hagiographischen Zügen. Um so überzeugender entwirft sie das Porträt eines zunächst zögernden und unsicheren, eines unpolitischen und anpassungsfähigen, aber stets liberalen und selbstkritischen, vom gutbürgerlichen Elternhaus mit Klugheit, Sensibilität und sicherem Blick ausgestatteten, humanistisch gebildeten und unabhängig urteilenden Geistes." Jürgen Habermas in Neue Zürcher Zeitung vom 12./13.2.2000, S. 49 "Jean Grondin […] hat es übernommen, das Jahrhundertleben Hans-Georg Gadamers zu beschreiben, und es ist ihm gelungen, ein hundertjähriges Leben […] mit Detailtreue und eindrücklicher Sprache in einer Weise erlebbar zu machen, die das Lesen dieser Biographie zu einem Erlebnis werden lässt." KVS-Mitteilungen, Nr. 2 (2000), S. 22 "Meisterhaft geschrieben, mit subtilem Einfühlungsvermögen und Feingefühl […]. Grondins feinsinniger Witz, rhetorischer Charme und sprachlicher Schliff machen die Lektüre auch zu einem literarischen Genuß." Annemarie C. Mayer in Theologische Revue, 97. Jahrgang, 6 (2001), S. 508-510