Reason in the Age of Science - Paperback

by Hans-Georg Gadamer (Author), Frederick G. Lawrence (Translator)

The essays in this book deal broadly with the question of what form reasoning about life and society can take in a culture permeated by scientific and technical modes of thought. They attempt to identify certain very basic types of questions that seem to escape scientific resolution and call for, in Gadamer's view, philosophical reflection of a hermeneutic sort. In effect, Gadamer argues for the continued practical relevance of Socratic-Platonic modes of thought in respect to contemporary issues. As part of this argument, he advances his own views on the interplay of science, technology, and social policy.These essays, which are not available in any existing translation or collection of Gadamer's work, are remarkably up-to-date with respect to the present state of his thinking, and they address issues that are particularly critical to social theory and philosophy. Perhaps more than anyone else, Hans-Georg Gadamer, who is Professor Emeritus at the University of Heidelberg and Distinguished Visiting Professor at Boston College, is the doyen of German Philosophy. His previously translated works have been widely and enthusiastically received in this country. He is recognized as the chief theorist of hermeneutics, a strong and growing movement here in a number of disciplines, from theology and literary criticism to philosophy and social theory. A book in the series Studies in Contemporary German Social Thought.

Back Jacket

This collection of probing and lucidly written essays shows Gadamer as the leading Continental philosopher after Heidegger. It is an impassioned defense of practical reason, and of hermeneutics as a mode of practical philosophy, against the twin dangers of scientism and ideological partisanship.

Author Biography

Shigeru Miyagawa is Professor of Linguistics and Kochi-Manjiro Professor of Japanese Language and Culture at MIT. He is the author of Structure and Case Marking in Japanese and the coeditor of Oxford Handbook of Japanese Linguistics.