Blackwell Reference Online

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M odern european philosophy Gadamer follows Husserl and Heidegger in arguing that we live and understand within horizons , which provide a frame-work for the possibility of meaning . Although a horizon is formed in tradition and culture , there is, in interpreting a historical text, a tension between this horizon of the text and the horizon of the present and of the interpreter. In understanding , we need to acquire the historical horizon, but it is also impossible to eliminate our own criteria and prejudices . We should be aware of the particularities of both horizons and overcome them by establishing a relation that brings them together. Any real understanding involves such a fusion of horizons in the course of which tradition acquires new life and our own prejudices are challenged. Since language is crucial to understanding, a fusion of horizons is essentially a fusion of language. “In the process of understanding there takes place a real fusing of horizons, which means that as the historical horizon is projected, it is simultaneously removed.” Gadamer, Truth and Method ... log in or subscribe to read full text