Past, Present, and the Task of Interpretation
Abstract
This article offers a way to think about the meaningfulness of how one might interpret their present situation in its relation to the past. Discussed is the development of what I call the “critical attitude” to this relation, which originates out of a hermeneutical understanding of tradition, not as simply a tradition, but as a continuous movement of “delivering-over” or Überlieferung; a distinction which I draw inspiration from Hans-Georg Gadamer’s usage in Truth and Method. Subsequently, I caution against closing off from this movement on the grounds that it removes one’s responsibility to address the tradition in its role of structuring one’s present situation.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Hermeneutics and Narrative Identity
Philosophy
History
and Historiography
Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Epoché A Journal for the History of Philosophy
- Volume
- 30
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 349–367
- Publication date
- 1 January 2026
- Language
- EN