This chapter examines Gadamer’s early interpretation of Plato, focusing on his 1931 work Platos dialektische Ethik, to demonstrate how his understanding of Platonic dialectic as the theory of dialogue’s objective possibility marked a decisive philosophical departure from Heidegger. Through a detailed analysis of Gadamer’s phenomenological reading of the Philebus and his conception of the pólis, the study reveals how his early engagement with Platonic philosophy laid the groundwork for his later development of philosophical hermeneutics. The investigation centres on three interconnected (...) themes: the relationship between dialectic and hermeneutics, the nature of ethico-political understanding, and the significance of genuine dialogue in human finitude. The chapter argues that Gadamer’s interpretation of areté and his conception of the pólis as the mode of being of ‘worldly’ human beings led him to develop a distinctive philosophical position where the ethico-political dimension of understanding emerges through dialogue with others. This early divergence from Heideggerian philosophy—particularly regarding the concepts of Miteinandersein and human finitude—proved crucial for Gadamer’s subsequent philosophical development. The study demonstrates how Gadamer’s initial confrontation with Plato already contained the seeds of a dialogical conception of understanding that would fundamentally shape his mature thought while illuminating the political implications of his break with Heidegger. (shrink)

Hans-Georg Gadamer. Cuestiones abiertas / Open Questions (2025), edited by Facundo Bey and published jointly by Filosófica Editorial and the Editorial Universitaria of the Universidad Central del Ecuador, is a bilingual open-access volume celebrating the 125th anniversary of Gadamer’s birth. It brings together fourteen original chapters by internationally recognised scholars—twelve in English and two in Spanish—including contributions from John Arthos, Nathan Eric Dickman, Dieter Teichert, Eddo Evink, Babette Babich, Roger W. H. Savage, Mirela Oliva, Luiz Rohden, Darren Walhof, Walter Lammi, (...) Abdullah Başaran, Antoine Pageau-St-Hilaire, Einar Iván Monroy Gutiérrez, and Facundo Bey. With a prologue by Jean Grondin, the volume is structured around five major themes: 1) Language, Tradition, and Questioning in Philosophical Hermeneutics; 2) Reason, Meaning, and Science; 3) Ethics, Politics, Practical Philosophy; 4) Philosophy and Religion; and 5) Gadamer and the Classics. The book explores the ongoing relevance of Gadamer’s hermeneutics as a philosophical response to contemporary crises, and affirms the transformative power of questioning at the heart of understanding. (shrink)