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The Common Ground Between Plato's Ontology of Ideas and Hans-Georg The Common Ground between Plato’s Ontology of Ideas and Hans-Georg Gadamer’s Philosophical Hermeneutics Christopher Gibson A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctorate in Philosophy degree in Philosophy Department of Philosophy Faculty of Arts University of Ottawa © Christopher Gibson, Ottawa, Canada, 2018 Abstract This doctoral thesis argues that Gadamer’s hermeneutical ontology is grounded in part in Plato’s ontology of ideas. In making this argument, this thesis will aim to substantiate the following claims on the basis of Gadamer’s sustained focus on the principles of his hermeneutical ontology and Plato’s ontology of ideas, and the hypothesis that the former has a substantial basis in the latter: one, that the hermeneutical object maintains both a unitary and multiple existence; two, that the unity and plurality of the hermeneutical object presuppose their speculative unity within a single, ontological framework; and three, that language functions as the medium between the unitary and multiple existences of the hermeneutical object following their logical separation. Overall, this thesis aims to make an original contribution to Gadamer studies and his views on language and hermeneutical experience by arguing that his understanding of the ontology of the hermeneutical phenomenon shares a common philosophical ground with Plato’s theory of ideas. This thesis begins, therefore, with the idea that the essential finitude of human knowledge necessitates that the conception of truth in Gadamer’s hermeneutics rests upon the principles of unity and multiplicity in order to be meaningful. From there, we illustrate that Gadamer locates these principles in Plato’s late ontology, and that in developing the central concepts of his hermeneutics he remains faithful to the Socratic turning toward the ideas. Plato clarifies for Gadamer how, in recognizing the internal limits of our knowledge, we efface ourselves in light of the unlimited scope of the ideas that constitute our understanding of the world, and necessitate that this understanding is shared and developed with others. In addition to the introduction and conclusion, this dissertation has five chapters. Chapter one demonstrates that the hermeneutical object has both a unitary and multiple existence, and that the truth that hermeneutical reflection obtains must therefore attend to both the essential unity and multiplicity that belong to this object. Chapter two uncovers Gadamer’s approach to Plato’s theory of ideas, principally through his understanding of Plato’s participation thesis and the arithmos structure of the lo/gov. Chapter three demonstrates that, because of its essential historicity, hermeneutical consciousness does not require a standard of objective certainty in order to validate its truth-claims extra-historically or extra-linguistically. It is shown, rather, that such standards are known historically and are therefore subject to change in light of our shared experiences of them. Chapter four elaborates Gadamer’s characterization of hermeneutical understanding as theoretical, i.e. as a mode of participation in the intelligible structures of reality that implies the practical activity of the participants. This chapter also examines the speculative structure of language that Gadamer applies to his hermeneutics, and how he uses this structure to situate the Platonic One and Many historically. Finally, chapter five further elaborates Gadamer’s identification of hermeneutics as a practical activity as a way to distinguish between authentic and inauthentic experience. In light of this distinction, this chapter demonstrates that authentic experience necessarily implies a justificatory demand toward others that secures solidarity and goodwill in social and political institutions. ii Table of Contents Abstract ii Acknowledgements v Abbreviations vi 1. Introduction: The Platonic origin of Gadamer’s hermeneutics 1.1: General Introduction 1 1.2: The single and multiple existences of the hermeneutical object 2 1.3: The single-world ontology of the hermeneutical phenomenon 4 1.4: The medium of language and the paradigm of number 6 2. Chapter One: The meaning of truth in Gadamer’s hermeneutics 2.1: Introduction 19 2.2: Four definitions of truth 20 2.2.1: Truth as unconcealment 24 2.2.2: Truth as relation between whole and part 31 2.2.3: Truth as an event of experience 39 2.2.4: Truth as agreement 44 2.2: Problems 50 2.3.1: Criticisms 54 2.4: Conclusion 63 3. Chapter Two: Plato’s ontology of ideas 3.1: Introduction 66 3.2: The Platonic question of Gadamer’s hermeneutical ontology 70 3.3: Parmenides 74 3.3.1: The initial orientation toward the dialectic of the One and Many 74 3.3.2: Reorienting the argument 80 3.4: Theaetetus 92 3.4.1: The geometrical paradigm 94 3.4.2: The linguistic paradigm 100 3.5: Sophist 109 3.5.1: Being as du/namiv and the possibility of language 113 3.6: Conclusion 124 4. Chapter Three: Language, tradition, and the historically effected consciousness 4.1: Introduction 129 4.2: Habermas and the critique of ideology 135 4.3: The hermeneutical claim to universality 145 4.4: Philosophical rhetoric 159 4.5: Conclusion 173 iii 5. Chapter Four: Understanding as participation and the speculative structure of language 5.1: Introduction 178 5.2: Hypothesizing the ei]dov 183 5.3: Gadamer’s speculative dialectic 190 5.3.1: Aesthetic consciousness and the structure of play 190 5.3.2: The speculative structure of language and the event of understanding 203 5.4: Conclusion 217 6. Chapter Five: Practical hermeneutics and the conditions for shared understanding 6.1: Introduction 222 6.2: Incommensurability and hermeneutical openness 225 6.3: The truth of the word 232 6.3.1: Authenticity and the literary text 232 6.3.2: Authenticity and wordplay 236 6.3: Sophistry and inauthentic modes of experience 240 6.3.1: Gadamer’s critique of technology 244 6.3.2: The possibility of falsehood 254 6.4: The philosophical orientation toward the things themselves 258 6.4.1: The experience of the Thou 258 6.4.2: Solidarity and goodwill toward the other 265 6.5: Conclusion 272 7. Conclusion 276 8. Bibliography 8.1: Primary Sources 284 8.2: Secondary Sources 286 iv Acknowledgements This research project was supported by grants from the Ontario Graduate Scholarship Program, as well as funding from the University of Ottawa. I would also like to acknowledge the Department of Philosophy, whose support and assistance over the course of this project has been vital to its success. I would like to recognize and thank my thesis supervisor, Francisco Gonzalez, for his extremely insightful reflections, commitment to teaching, and scholarly mentorship. The reliability of his guidance and encouragement during the research and writing process was essential to completing this thesis. I am also grateful for the questions and constructive feedback from my committee, Catherine Collobert, Denis Dumas, Jeffrey Reid, as well as this project’s external examiner, James Risser. Their involvement has strengthened the final version of this thesis. I want to thank the many professors I have had over the years who have contributed to my ongoing interest in the questions involved in this thesis, and have improved my understanding of them, especially Nigel De Souza and Eli Diamond. I am particularly grateful for the friendship and support of my colleagues at the University of Ottawa, whose motivation was critical to my doctoral experience. I want to thank my parents, Robert and Barbara, for imparting the value of learning and always supporting my education and life choices. Lastly, I want to thank my wife, Kathleen, whose confidence in me has been a constant and vital reinforcement. v Abbreviations AS Gadamer, Hans-Georg. 2012. Die Aktualität des Schönen. Stuttgart: Phillip Reclam jun. BT Heidegger, Martin. 1962. Being and Time. Trans. John Macquarrie and Edward Robinson. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. DD Gadamer, Hans-Georg. 1980. Dialogue and Dialectic. Dialogue and Dialectic: Eight Hermeneutical Studies on Plato. Trans. P. Christopher Smith. New Haven: Yale University Press. GR Palmer, Richard, ed. 2007. The Gadamer Reader: A Bouquet of the Later Writings. Evanston: Northwestern University Press. GW II Gadamer, Hans-Georg. 1993. Gesammelte Werke Band 2: Hermeneutik II: Wahrheit und Method, Ergänzungen Register. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck. GW V Gadamer, Hans-Georg. 1985. Gesammelte Werke Band 5: Greichische Philosophie I. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck. GW VII Gadamer, Hans-Georg. 1991. Gesammelte Werke Band 7: Greichische Philosophie III: Plato im Dialog. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck. GW VIII Gadamer, Hans-Georg. 1993. Gesammelte Werke Band 8: Ästhetik und Poetik I: Kunst als Aussage. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck. IG Gadamer, Hans-Georg. 1986. The Idea of the Good in Platonic-Aristotelian Philosophy. Trans. P. Christopher Smith. New Haven: Yale University Press. PDE Gadamer, Hans-Georg. 1991. Plato’s Dialectical Ethics. Trans. Robert M. Wallace. New Haven: Yale University Press. PH Gadamer, Hans-Georg. 1976. Philosophical Hermeneutics. Ed. David E. Ling. Berkeley: University of California Press. RAS Gadamer, Hans-Georg. 1981. Reason in the Age of Science. Trans. Frederick G. Lawrence. Cambridge: The MIT Press. RB Gadamer, Hans-Georg. 1986. The Relevance of the Beautiful and Other Essays. Ed. Robert Bernasconi. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. vi TM Gadamer, Hans-Georg. 2006. Truth and Method, 2nd revised edition. Trans. Joel Weinsheimer and Donald G. Marshall. London: Continuum Publishing Group. WM
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