Hermeneutics is a major theoretical and practical form of intellectual enquiry, central not only to philosophy but many other disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. With phenomenology and existentialism, it is also one of the twentieth century’s most important philosophical movements and includes major thinkers such as Heidegger, Gadamer and Ricoeur. The Routledge Companion to Hermeneutics is an outstanding guide and reference source to the key philosophers, topics and themes in this exciting subject and is the first volume of its kind. Comprising over fifty chapters by a team of international contributors the Companion is divided into five
Jeff Malpas is Distinguished Professor at the University of Tasmania and Distinguished Visiting Professor at Latrobe University. He is the author of Heidegger's Topology: Being, Place, World and Heidegger and the Thinking of Place: Explorations in the Topology of Being, both published by the MIT Press.
An edited collection of excellent studies of many aspects of hermeneutics, divided into five parts. Hermeneutic origins covers Greek and medieval thought. Hermeneutic thinkers includes major contributors from the 17th to 20th centuries such as Dilthey, Ricoeur, and Rorty. Hermeneutic questions discusses issues such as the nature of meaning and interpretation. Hermeneutic encounters looks at perspectives such as science, literature, and aesthetics. Hermeneutic challenges and dialogues consider frameworks such as critical theory, pragmatism, and (particularly interesting) Confucianism. The first two parts are the most stimulating. The latter sections often veer towards a “companion” to Gadamer. The conclusion written by Professor Gianni Vattimo is especially provocative.