The Life of Understanding: A Contemporary Hermeneutics

Title Page, Copyright Page

The Life of Understanding Studies in Continental Thought John Sallis, editor Consulting Editors Robert Bernasconi J. N. Mohanty Rudolph Bernet Mary Rawlinson John D. Caputo Tom Rockmore David Carr Calvin O. Schrag Edward S. Casey † Reiner Schürmann Hubert Dreyfus Charles E. Scott Don Ihde Thomas Sheehan David Farrell Krell Robert Sokolowski Lenore Langsdorf Bruce W. Wilshire Alphonso Lingis David Wood William L. McBride The Life of Understanding A Contemporary Hermeneutics James Risser Indiana University Press Bloomington & Indianapolis This book is a publication of Indiana University Press 601 North Morton Street Bloomington, Indiana 47404-3797 USA iupress.indiana.edu Telephone orders 800-842-6796 Fax orders 812-855-7931© 2012 by James Risser All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system , without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of American University Presses’ Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition. The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992. Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-­Publication Data Risser, James, [date] The life of understanding : a contemporary hermeneutics / James Risser. p. cm. — (Studies in Continental thought) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-253-00214-3 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-253-00219-8 (­ electronic) 1. Hermeneutics. 2. Plato. 3. Gadamer, Hans-Georg, 1900–2002. I. Title. BD241.R498 2012 121’.686—dc23 2012007746 1 2 3 4 5 17 16 15 14 13 12 ...