Gadamer's ethics of play : hermeneutics and the other PDF
Preview Gadamer's ethics of play : hermeneutics and the other
Gadamer’s Ethics of Play Gadamer’s Ethics of Play Hermeneutics and the Other Monica Vilhauer LEXINGTON BOOKS A division of ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD PUBLISHERS, INC. Lanham • Boulder • New York • Toronto • Plymouth, UK Published by Lexington Books A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706 www.lexingtonbooks.com Estover Road, Plymouth PL6 7PY, United Kingdom Copyright © 2010 by Lexington Books All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Vilhauer, Monica. Gadamer’s ethics of play : hermeneutics and the other / Monica Vilhauer. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 978-0-7391-3914-1 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-7391-3916-5 (electronic) 1. Gadamer, Hans-Georg, 1900–2002. Wahrheit und Methode. 2. Hermeneutics. 3. Play (Philosophy) 4. Other (Philosophy) 5. Ethics. I. Title. B3248.G33W34375 2010 175—dc22 2010022960 The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992. Printed in the United States of America To my parents, lifelong dialogue partners Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction:AnInvitationto“Play” xi PartI:Gadamer’sHermeneuticProblem 1 1 FacingtheInadequateModelofModernScience 3 PartII:Gadamer’sConceptofPlay:Re-ConceivingtheProcess ofUnderstanding 23 2 IntroducingtheKeyofPlay 25 3 UnderstandingArt:ThePlayofWorkandSpectator 31 4 ThePlayofInterlocutors:UnderstandingasDialogue 49 PartIII:TheEthicalDimensionsofPlay 73 5 TheEthicalConditionsofDialogicPlay:BetweenIand Thou 75 6 GenuinePlayinAction:TheModelofthePhilosopher 99 7 TheValueofGenuinePlay:TransitiontoPlayasaGuideto Life 111 8 PlayandPracticalPhilosophy:PlayasaGuidetoLife 115 PartIV:WhenEthicalConditionsareLacking 129 9 TheProblemofClosedness 133 10 CultivatinganOpeningtoDialogue 139 Bibliography 149 Index 153 AbouttheAuthor 161 vii Acknowledgments Thisprojecthas gonethroughanumberofstagesonthewaytoitsfinal form as a book. I’d like to offer my thanks to a number of teachers, colleagues,andfriendswhohavesupportedthelifeofthisworkasithas developed. First,Ioffergreatthankstothoseteacherswhonurturedandcritiqued my early work on Gadamer at the New School for Social Research. My special thanks go to Richard Bernstein, who introduced me to Gadamer and offered me much needed encouragement while I was writing a first version of this book. His enthusiasm in the classroom, and his special abilitytorecognize,andholdincheck,allsignsofsophistry,continuesto inspire me in my thinking and in my own teaching. I also want to offer special thanks to Alice Crary and Dmitri Nikulin for their thoughtful feedbackon myearlydraftofthepresent work,andtheirwillingnessto offerguidanceanytimeIneededit. Second,IamgratefultomycolleaguesintheReligionandPhilosophy DepartmentatRoanokeCollege,whohavesokindlyofferedtheirfriend- ship and advice to me as I have attempted to learn how to juggle the three ballsofteaching,research,andservice.MythanksgotoBrentAd- kins, Jennifer Berenson, Paul Hinlicky, Marwood Larson-Harris, Gerry McDermott, Eric Rothgery, Ned Wisnefske, and Hans Zorn. I am so thankful for their collective wisdom, and the openness with which they have welcomed me into the department. I am also grateful to Roanoke CollegefortheFacultyScholarAward,whichofferedmethetimeneces- sarytocompletemymanuscriptandprepareitforpublication. Third,there isaspecialgroupoffriendsouttherethathasbeenwill- ing to brainstorm with me, strategize with me, and read and respond to my writing as the long process of this project has come to a close. I am indebtedtothesepeoplefortheirthoughtfulness,time,andconversation. ThankyoutoJakeVilhauer,BrentAdkins,LaurenSwayneBarthold,and RachelNeithercutforhelpingmetoreachthefinishline! Ipresentedmanyoftheideasfromchapter3totheGraduateFaculty Women in Philosophy group at the New School for Social Research in 2004, and am thankful for the thoughtful feedback of that group. I also want to thank the editors of the Women in Philosophy journal of the New SchoolforSocialResearchforthepermissiontoreviseandusemyarticle “UnderstandingthePlayStructureofUnderstanding:TheModelofArt,” from the 2004–2005 volume of the WIP journal, in this book. I presented ix x Acknowledgments manyoftheideasfrom chapter6totheXVIthInternationalSymposium oftheOlympicCenterforPhilosophyandCulturein2005,andbenefited from conversations with participants of the symposium. I thank the edi- tor of Skepsis for the permission to revise and use parts of my article “SocraticDialogueandtheEthicalConditionsofKnowledge,”fromSkep- sisvolume26:1–2,2005,inthisbook.Ipresentedideasfromchapters3,4, and 5 at the Eastern Division meeting of the American Philosophical Association in 2008, and the Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy meeting in 2008. I am thankful for the insightful questions and comments offered byparticipantsatbothmeetings,especially those ofLaurenSwayneBarthold,whocommentedonmypaperattheEastern APAmeeting.IthankDavidPellauer,editorofPhilosophyToday,forper- mission to include portions of my SPEP paper in this book, which ap- peared in volume 53:4 (Winter 2009) of Philosophy Today under the title “Beyond the ‘Fusion of Horizons’: Gadamer’s Notion of Understanding as ‘Play.’” Finally, I appreciate the permission that Continuum Interna- tional Publishing Group has offered me to publish portions of Truth and Methodinthisbook. I want to thank, also, an anonymous reviewer enlisted by Lexington Books, whose careful reading of the manuscript and tough criticism has pushedmetomakethebookbetter. I am grateful to Jeff Hofmann for creating the cover art for this book withthesubjectmatterofitscontentsinmind.Iamparticularlythankful forthesupportandpatienceJeffhasofferedmethroughthestringofall- consuming deadlines associated with this book project, and I am also thankful for the enthusiasm with which he took on the project of the cover art. I am proud that his artistic talent can be displayed across the frontofthiswork. Last,Iwanttothank,aboveall,myfamilyfortheirlove,support,and humor, without which I could not accomplish much at all. They are the enduring “dialogue partners” of my life. I am forever indebted to them forteachingmemoreaboutthepracticeofengagedconversation,ethics, and“openness”thanIcouldeverhopetoextractfromanybook.
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