Anders Odenstedt Livres

Cognition's reliance on historical context is a key theme in Hans-Georg Gadamer's philosophy. This study explores Gadamer's theory of context-dependence, addressing criticisms that his concept of unreflectiveness contradicts itself. It argues for a distinction between general context-dependence and awareness of specific forms of it, suggesting that not all influences need to be consciously reflected upon. While Gadamer asserts that many contextual influences are unreflected, this position requires a nuanced understanding of specific dependencies rather than a broad idea of context.

This book discusses Gadamer's theory of context-dependence. Analytical and partly critical, the book also shows exegetical accuracy in the rendering of Gadamer's position. It explores the following questions that Gadamer's theory of context-dependence tries to answer: in what way is thought influenced by and thus dependent on its historical context? To what extent and in what way is the individual able to become reflectively aware of and emancipate himself from this dependence? The book takes Gadamer's wide interests into account, e. g. issues relating to the history of historiography and the nature of art and aesthetic experience. The problem of the context-dependence of thought is prominent in contemporary philosophy, including the fields of structuralism, post structuralism, deconstruction, certain forms of feminist philosophy and the philosophy of science. In this sense, the book discusses an issue with wide repercussions.