Philosophy Dictionary of ArgumentsHome
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Hans-Georg Gadamer on Classics - Dictionary of Arguments
I 292 The Classic/Gadamer: The Classical is a truly historical category precisely because it is more than an epochal concept or a historical style concept and yet it does not want to be a supra-historical value concept. It does not denote a quality to be ascribed to certain historical phenomena, but rather an excellent way of being historical itself, the historical advantage of preservation, which - in ever renewed proof - lets a truth be true. It is by no means the case that the historical way of thinking wanted to make us believe that the value judgement by which something is distinguished as classical would really be decomposed by historical reflection and its criticism of all teleological constructions of the course of history. Value Judgement/Gadamer: The value judgement that is implied in the concept of the classic gains a new, i.e. its actual legitimation in such criticism: what is classical is what stands up to historical criticism, because its historical rule, the obligatory power of its handing down and preserving validity, is already ahead of all historical reflection and is sustained in it. Example: Hellenism/Droysen/Gadamer: Droysen rightly emphasized the world historical continuity and the importance of Hellenism for the birth and interpretation of Christianity. But it would not have been necessary for him in the first placec to carry out this historical theodicy, if there had not still been a prejudice in favour of the classical and if the educational power of the "classical antiquity" had not held on to it and preserved it as the unlost ancient heritage in Western education. Classics/Gadamer: The classical is basically something different from a descriptive term handled by an objectifying historical consciousness; it is a historical I 293 reality to which the historical consciousness also belongs and is subject. What is classic is not subject to the difference between the changing times and their changing tastes (...). Norm/Classicism/Gadamer: The first thing about the concept (and this corresponds completely to the ancient as well as the modern use of language) is the normative sense. However, insofar as this norm is related retrospectively to a unique past greatness that fulfilled and represented it, it always already contains a touch of timet hat articulates it historically. Classicism/Gadamer: So it was no wonder that with the beginning of historical reflection, for which in Germany (...) Winckelmann's Classicism became decisive, from which in this way a historical concept of a time or an epoch was removed as classically valid, in order to designate a stylistic ideal described in terms of content, and at the same time historically descriptive a time or an epoch that fulfilled this ideal. Epigonism/Gadamer: In the distance of the epigone that sets the standard, it becomes apparent that the fulfillment of this stylistic ideal designates a moment in world history that belongs to the past. I 294 Genres/Ideal/Style Phases/Gadamer: [the authors considered] classical are, as we know, the representatives of certain literary genres. They were regarded as the perfect fulfilment of such genre norms, an ideal visible in the retrospective of literary criticism. If one thinks historically, that is, if one thinks of the history of these genres, the classical becomes the concept of a style phase, a climax, which articulates the history of this genre before and after. Epochs/Gadamer: Provided that the genre-historical highlights belong to a large extent to the same, narrowly defined period, the classical within the whole of the historical development of classical antiquity designates such a phase and thus becomes an epoch concept that merges with the style concept. >Classics/Hegel. I 295 This discussion of the concept of the classic (...) is intended to raise a general question. This is: "Is the historical mediation of the past with the present, as it characterizes the concept of the classical, ultimately the basis of all historical behavior as an effective substrate? >Hermeneutics/Gadamer._____________Explanation of symbols: Roman numerals indicate the source, arabic numerals indicate the page number. The corresponding books are indicated on the right hand side. ((s)…): Comment by the sender of the contribution. Translations: Dictionary of Arguments The note [Concept/Author], [Author1]Vs[Author2] or [Author]Vs[term] resp. "problem:"/"solution:", "old:"/"new:" and "thesis:" is an addition from the Dictionary of Arguments. If a German edition is specified, the page numbers refer to this edition. |
Gadamer I Hans-Georg Gadamer Wahrheit und Methode. Grundzüge einer philosophischen Hermeneutik 7. durchgesehene Auflage Tübingen 1960/2010 Gadamer II H. G. Gadamer The Relevance of the Beautiful, London 1986 German Edition: Die Aktualität des Schönen: Kunst als Spiel, Symbol und Fest Stuttgart 1977 |
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Ed. Martin Schulz, access date 2024-04-19