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Listening to Language in Gadamer's Hermeneutics Sanda Tomuletiu Duquesne University Duquesne Scholarship Collection Electronic Theses and Dissertations Summer 2012 Listening to Language in Gadamer's Hermeneutics Sanda Tomuletiu Follow this and additional works at: https://dsc.duq.edu/etd Recommended Citation Tomuletiu, S. (2012). Listening to Language in Gadamer's Hermeneutics (Doctoral dissertation, Duquesne University). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/1288 This Immediate Access is brought to you for free and open access by Duquesne Scholarship Collection. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Duquesne Scholarship Collection. For more information, please contact [email protected]. LISTENING TO LANGUAGE IN GADAMER’S HERMENEUTICS A Dissertation Submitted to the McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts Duquesne University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Sanda T. Tomuletiu August 2012 Copyright by Sanda T. Tomuletiu 2012 Sanda T. Tomuletiu “Listening to Language in Gadamer’s Hermeneutics” Ph.D. in Rhetoric May 8, 2012 APPROVED ______________________________________________ Dr. Calvin L. Troup, Dissertation Director Associate Professor Department of Communication & Rhetorical Studies APPROVED ______________________________________________ Dr. Ronald C. Arnett, First Reader Professor Department of Communication & Rhetorical Studies APPROVED ______________________________________________ Dr. Pat Arneson, Second Reader Associate Professor Department of Communication & Rhetorical Studies APPROVED ______________________________________________ Dr. Ronald C. Arnett, Chair Department of Communication & Rhetorical Studies APPROVED ______________________________________________ Dr. James C. Swindal, Dean McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts iii ABSTRACT LISTENING TO LANGUAGE IN GADAMER’S HERMENEUTICS By Sanda T. Tomuletiu August 2012 Dissertation supervised by Calvin L. Troup Subscribing to Hans-Georg Gadamer’s belief that human beings are called to be insightful and discerning, this dissertation explores Gadamer’s idea and practice of listening to language in order to understand the relationship between a constitutive theory of language and a life of wisdom. As Gadamer’s texts reveal, the hermeneutic practice of listening to language is a reflective engagement of language that is theoretically grounded in a constitutive view of language. First, we need to listen to language because language, not consciousness, is the critical element in understanding. Second, the ontological priority of language over subjectivity comes with the nature of our primary relationship to language—we belong to it. Language is the medium in which we think and live, which makes us human. This means that our primary and most consequential relationship to language is as hearers, not users, of language. Third, the nature of language is both binding and expansive; hence the problems that come with its binding nature can be iv attended to from within language itself, by engaging its expansive nature. In other words, Gadamer does not believe in linguistic determinism. The first chapter explores the conversation between Gadamer and communication studies by surveying what communication scholars have found significant for communication theory and practice in Gadamer’s thought. The next three chapters examine Gadamer’s idea and practice of listening to language through a close interpretive reading of Gadamer’s texts. This reading reveals three key relationships that define the hermeneutic practice of listening to language: the relationship between ordinary language and conceptual thought (chapter two); the relationship between hearing and understanding (chapter three); and the relationship between language and reason (chapter four). The last chapter takes the conversation between Gadamer and communication studies further by considering some ways in which the hermeneutic practice of listening to language can assist communication scholars and practitioners in becoming discerning and insightful. v ACKNOWLEDGMENT My wholehearted gratitude goes to ... ... my sisters for their generous hearts and unconditional love, which have literally supported me on this journey ... ... my friends, especially John, Meredith, and Alexandra, who have faithfully walked beside me … ... my Duquesne community: my professors, particularly Ronald C. Arnett, who introduced me to phenomenology, and Janie Harden Fritz, for her encouraging words and joyful presence; the Gumberg library staff for their wonderful service; and my fellow travelers in dissertation writing for their friendship … ... my dissertation director, Calvin L. Troup, a wise and kind guide, with an inner sense for the right word spoken at the right time. I hope to be for my students the kind of mentor he was for me. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iv Acknowledgement ............................................................................................................. vi 1. Entering the Conversation: Gadamer and Communication Studies ............ 1 1.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Understanding ....................................................................................................... 4 The objective consciousness of communication studies ................................... 4 Gadamer’s alternative ....................................................................................... 5 Towards a disciplinary hermeneutic consciousness ......................................... 7 1.3 Rhetoric .................................................................................................................. 10 Gadamer’s humanist rhetoric ............................................................................ 10 Praxis and phronesis ......................................................................................... 12 1.4 Conversation .......................................................................................................... 15 The subject matter ............................................................................................. 17 1.5 Language ................................................................................................................ 19 The self-revelation of the subject matter .......................................................... 21 World and medium ........................................................................................... 22 Constitutive and/or representational ................................................................. 24 1.6 Listening................................................................................................................. 27 1.7 Conclusions ............................................................................................................ 30 2. Back to the Words Themselves ......................................................................... 31 2.1. Introduction .......................................................................................................... 31 2.2 Heidegger’s Destruktion and Hermeneutic of Facticity ..................................... 33 vii 2.3 Back to Experience ............................................................................................... 37 2.4 The Self-Forgetfulness of Language .................................................................... 42 2.5 The Thinking Use of Language ............................................................................ 49 2.6 Concept-Historical Consciousness ....................................................................... 57 2.7 Conclusions ............................................................................................................ 62 3. Tarrying with Language .................................................................................... 64 3.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 64 3.2 Hearing, Belonging, and Language ..................................................................... 66 The hermeneutic circle ...................................................................................... 66 The primacy of hearing ..................................................................................... 68 Our default hearing ........................................................................................... 73 3.3 The Event of Understanding ................................................................................ 75 The self-presentation of meaning ...................................................................... 75 The evocative power of language ..................................................................... 78 3.4 The Art of Listening.............................................................................................. 84 Tarrying............................................................................................................. 84 The intuitive ear ................................................................................................ 87 3.5 Conclusions ............................................................................................................ 92 4. Trusting Language ............................................................................................
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