Hans-Georg Gadamer is one of the leading philosophers in the world today. Since the publication in 1960 of his magnum opus "Truth and Method, " his philosophical hermeneutics has been the focus of a great deal of attention and controversy. His ideas have been applied to questions of interpretation in the study of art and literature, to issues of knowledge and objectivity in the social sciences, to related disputes in theology and jurisprudence, and even to reevaluations of philosophy itself.

This book is a systematic introduction to Gadamer's work, presented with a clarity of exposition and argument that makes it rewarding to non-philosophers and philosophers alike. It is constructed around a series of debates on historicism, authorial intention, subjectivism, ideology, and the "New Pragmatism, " and it pays particular attention to how Gadamer's work has been interpreted and criticized by such philosophers as Hirsch, Habermas, Apel, and Rorty. The dialogic form, which is in itself a central feature of hermeneutic theory, gives the book an immediacy that textual exegesis cannot achieve.

This is the first book in the series "Key Contemporary Thinkers, " which will make available the ideas of some of the most influential philosophers of our time. The series will cut across academic disciplines and will include books on European, British and American thinkers.

Hans-Georg Gadamer's philosophical hermeneutics - one of the seminal philosophies of the 20th century - has had a profound influence on a wide array of fields, including classical philology, theology, the philosophy of the social sciences, literary theory, philosophy of law, critical social theory and the philosophy of art. This collection expands on some of these areas and takes his hermeneutics into yet new fields including narrative medicine, biotechnology, the politics of memory, the philosophy of place and the non-verbal language of the body. And, building on Gadamer's well-known discussions with Heidegger, Habermas and Derrida, Inheriting Gadamer sets him in dialogue with Mahatma Gandhi, Christine Korsgaard, Charles Mills and others. In these ways, the volume holds fast to a Gadamerian virtue: cultivating our important philosophical traditions while embracing the constant need to re-think their meaning in new circumstances and in relation to new knowledge.

Certainly one of the key German philosophers of the twentieth century, Hans-Georg Gadamer also influenced the study of literature, art, music, sacred and legal texts, and medicine. Indeed, while much attention has been focused on Gadamer's writings about ancient Greek and modern German philosophy, the relevance of his work for other disciplines is only now beginning to be properly considered and understood. In an effort to address this slant, this volume brings together many prominent scholars to assess, re-evaluate, and question Hans-Georg Gadamer's works, as well as his place in intellectual history. The book includes a recent essay by Gadamer on 'the task of hermeneutics', as well as essays by distinguished contributors including Jurgen Habermas, Richard Rorty, Gerald Bruns, Georgia Warnke, and many others. The contributors situate Gadamer's views in surprising ways and show that his writings speak to a range of contemporary debates - from constitutional questions to issues of modern art. A controversial final section attempts to uncover and clarify Gadamer's history in relation to National Socialism. More an investigation and questioning than a celebration of this venerable and profoundly influential philosopher, this collection will become a catalyst for any future rethinking of philosophical hermeneutics, as well as a significant starting place for rereading and reviewing Hans-Georg Gadamer.

"Legitimate Differences" challenges the usual portrayal of current debates over thorny social issues including abortion, pornography, affirmative action, and surrogate mothering as "moral" debates. How can it be said that our debates oppose principles of life to those of liberty, principles of liberty to those of equality, principles of equality to those of fairness, and principles of fairness to those of integrity, when we as Americans share all these principles?
Debates over such issues are not, Georgia Warnke argues, moral debates over which principles we should adopt. Rather, they are interpretive debates over the meanings of principles we already possess. Warnke traces the structure of these debates with reference to the work of Jane Austen, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Jurgen Habermas, and Bernard Williams. In separate chapters on surrogate mothering, affirmative action, abortion, and pornography she articulates new understandings of the meanings of some of our principles and shows the equal legitimacy of some different interpretations of the meanings of others. Finally, she suggests that the orientation of American public policy ought to be directed less at finding single canonical interpretations of our principles than at accommodating different legitimate understandings of them. The perspective offered by "Legitimate Differences" should have a significantly beneficial effect on public discussions.

Social and political theorists have traced in detail how individuals come to possess gender, sex and racial identities. This book examines the nature of these identities. Georgia Warnke argues that identities, in general, are interpretations and, as such, have more in common with textual understanding than we commonly acknowledge. A racial, sexed or gendered understanding of who we and others are is neither exhaustive of the 'meanings' we can be said to have nor uniquely correct. We are neither always, or only, black or white, men or women or males or females. Rather, all identities have a restricted scope and can lead to injustices and contradictions when they are employed beyond that scope. In concluding her argument, Warnke considers the legal and policy implications that follow for affirmative action, childbearing leave, the position of gays in the military and marriage between same-sex partners.

Social and political theorists have traced in detail how individuals come to possess gender, sex and racial identities. This book examines the nature of these identities. Georgia Warnke argues that identities, in general, are interpretations and, as such, have more in common with textual understanding than we commonly acknowledge. A racial, sexed or gendered understanding of who we and others are is neither exhaustive of the 'meanings' we can be said to have nor uniquely correct. We are neither always, or only, black or white, men or women or males or females. Rather, all identities have a restricted scope and can lead to injustices and contradictions when they are employed beyond that scope. In concluding her argument, Warnke considers the legal and policy implications that follow for affirmative action, childbearing leave, the position of gays in the military and marriage between same-sex partners.

The fifth volume in the Fundamentals of Philosophy Series, Debating Sex and Gender by Georgia Warnke is a concise yet in-depth introduction to contemporary feminist thought on sex and gender. Featuring a lucid and accessible writing style, the book focuses on four historical debates: the relation and possible distinction between sex (biologically based) and gender (culturally based); questioning the binary (male-female) character of sex and gender; the idea of gender as a performance and as a performative; and the intersection of gender with race, class, and other features of identity. These discussions serve as guides for the first four chapters of the book. The fifth chapter strives to resolve the four issues by situating sex and gender within a broader theory of identity, arguing that sex and gender are ways of understanding who people are and do not define us any more than other characteristics do. Unique in its exploration of several different debates--and their relationship to each other--Debating Sex and Gender is ideal for use in a variety of feminist philosophy, women's studies, and gender studies courses.