Abstract: A novel understanding of truth as a process of dialogue, new experience and an encounter with different realities was the highlight of Hans George Gadamer’s hermeneutics. He has redefined truth as a continuous and an ongoing process of interpretation rooted in history, thus negating the traditional understanding of absolute nature of truth. In the process of dialogue, a new meaning is generated through the fusion of horizons. This paper argues that recognizing the hermeneutics of existence in Gadamerian project is the recognition of hermeneutics of finitude. This paper also attempts to argue that there are ample avenues wherein Gadamerian project can be applied into the interpretation of religious beliefs. Gadamerian tools can be used to interpret the inter-textual phenomenon of the religious texts. It also indicates that a purely historical meaning would be insufficient for the best hermeneutical experience in religious realms. Inta-textual fusion of horizons, inter-textual fusion of understanding, the surplus meanings of religious experiences and the implications of incarnational approach are some of the positive outcomes of application of Gadamer’s project.
Keywords: Truth, Dialogical Encounter, Interpretation, New Understanding, Fusion of Horizons, Prejudices, Intratextual, Intertextual, Incarnational.
Title: Gadamer’s Hermeneutic Project and Interpretation of Religious Beliefs
Author: Sijo Sebastian
International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research
ISSN 2348-3156 (Print), ISSN 2348-3164 (online)
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