Drawing freely and expertly from Continental and analytic traditions, Richard Bernstein examines a number of debates and controversies exemplified in the works of Gadamer, Habermas, Rorty, and Arendt. He argues that a "new conversation" is emerging about human rationality—a new understanding that emphasizes its practical character and has important ramifications both for thought and action.

This article makes the political dimension of Gadamer's thought more explicit by examining the interplay of three concepts in his work: solidarity, friendship, and the other. Focusing primarily on certain post--"Truth and Method" writings, I argue that Gadamer's conception of solidarity has to do with historically contingent manifestations of bonds that reflect a civic life together of reciprocal co-perception. These bonds go beyond conscious recognition of observable similarities and differences and emerge from encounters among those who are, and remain, in (...) important ways other to each other. I make this case through an analysis of Gadamer's phenomenology of friendship and the crucial role of otherness in his accounts of both understanding and friendship. I suggest that Gadamer's political thought gives us a way of conceptualizing solidarity and otherness without making the other same or leaving the other completely other. (shrink)

A reabilitação da "filosofia prática", no século XX, é iniciada pelo jovem Heidegger com sua proposta de uma "hermenêutica da facticidade", remetida a Aristóteles, para enfrentar o auto-encobrimento do ser do ser humano. Porém, rapidamente, as formulações dos gregos clássicos passam a ser olhadas por Heidegger como parte do início do esquecimento da pergunta pelo ser. Gadamer afasta-se de Heidegger nesse ponto já nos anos trinta, colocando a necessidade de ampliar dialogicamente o âmbito da racionalidade prática por meio da complementação (...) da phrónesis e synesis, complementação que se desdobraria, depois, na dialógica de "Verdade e Método".La rehabilitación de la "filosofia práctica" en el siglo XX la inicia el joven Heidegger con su propuesta de una "hermenéutica de la facticidad", que se remite a Aristoteles, para hacerle frente al auto-encubrimiento del ser del ser humano. Pronto, sin embargo, los planteamientos de los clasicos griegos pasan a ser vistos por Heidegger como parte del inicio del olvido de la pregunta por el ser. Gadamer se aparta de Heidegger en ese punto ya en los anos treinta y plantea la necesidad de ampliar dialogicamente el ambito de la racionalidad practica mediante la complementacion de phrónesis y synesis, complementacion que se desplegara luego en la dialogica de "Verdad y Metodo".The rehabilitation of "practical philosophy" in the twentieth century began with young Heidegger's proposal of a "Hermeneutics of facticity", refered to Aristotle, in order to face the self-concealment of the being of man. Soon, however, the works of classical greek thinkers began to be seen by Heidegger as parts of the beginning of the oblivion of te question of being. Gadamer, in turn, furthered his studies on aristotelian Ethics and saw the need of expanding dialogically the scope of practical reason through the mutual complementation of "phronesis" and "synesis", further elaborated in "Truth and Method". (shrink)