An Aesthetical Study Of Gadamer’s Text Theory

In order to distinguish the classical Hermeneutics, Gadamer inherited Heidegger’s Hermeneutics of facticity and formed its own unique philosophical Hermeneutics combining with the state of this Being, interpretation, and language, Gadamer’s Hermeneutics experienced change for a work of art from focusing on the appearance of truth to focusing on enlightenment, practice functional of poetic texts. When summarizing the Hermeneutics thought of Gadamer’s whole life, even "the being-toward-the-text" was used to illustrate it, and it is enough to be seen that the Text shows an important position in his entire ideological system. Based on the word of "Text" in this article, the thinking of Gadamer’s Hermeneutics were reconstructed, and the ideological aesthetics of the Text thinking were explained. Gadamer has pointed out his philosophical hermeneutics can be realized though the aesthetic experience, which means it is not a traditional aesthetics, but modern aesthetics based on the scale of this Being.Introduction:Hermeneutics discipline has related to Text since its birth, the central position of Text in hermeneutics is needless to say, whatever Text is seen as classical hermeneutics for explanation, or the philosophical hermeneutics for appearance of the Text. As a central word in Gadamer’s Hermeneutics, Text is not only in connection with all aspects of Gadamer’s Hermeneutics, but also a carrier of the aesthetics. Moreover, this characteristic became appearance and growth by the dialogue with the Text, which is not only consistent with the ontological meaning of philosophical Hermeneutics, but also the research demands of the nature of Being in modern aesthetics. So it becomes the important hermeneutical cornerstone from Hermeneutics to aesthetics, with a very important hermeneutical and aesthetic value.Chapter One:In this chapter, the meaning of Hermeneutics and Text was explored to highlight "Hermeneutics" and "Text" unique content in Gadamer’s thought. The initial form of Hermeneutics performs as means and methods of understanding and interpreting the Text. So the understanding of Hermeneutics and Text exist side by side. In the classical Hermeneutics, because of Hermeneutics understood as a technical means and methods, Text only becomes means and methods of the object accordingly. For the only sake of overcoming the inapprehension parts of Text, Interpretation can make interpreters understand. Philosophical Hermeneutics is based on the Hermeneutics of facticity and makes understanding as the being’s mode of being, so the being’ attitude of Text is not simply going to get information, but going to figure out the circumstance of their existence in the language of the Text. Thus, the language of the Text is not simply to provide information, but to show the location of the human life experience. In the same way, interpretation is not a technical means, but a communication way between the being and the Text.Chapter Two:Gadamer’s Text thinking. Start from the relationships between three important components (Being, interpretation, language) of Gadamer’s Hermeneutics and the Text, Gadamer’s Hermeneutics is reconstructed, in order to highlight the main ideological connotations of the Text. Notably, these three components in Gadamer’s Hermeneutics is originally mutually referential and subordinate for each other, and so distinguish the relationship between them individually and Text, only for a purpose of better highlighting their thoughts connotations with different emphasis.Text and Being:In Gadamer’s Hermeneutics thought, the relationship between Text and Being is exhibited mainly through the relationship between Text and the being. The Gadamer’s state of the "the being-toward-the-Text", which is follow the example of the early Heidegger’s state of "the being-toward-the-Death", in order to illustrate that the being’s project realized only in the dialogue with the Text. The possibility of this realization lies in the Text (especially Poetic Text) appearance out of the being’s life experience. Here, there is the being’s interpretation in practice, and also the enlightenment of humanistic tradition with the main form of the Text to the being.Text and Interpretation:When the Text as history spreading carrier facing with the being, the Text entered the stage of the interpretation. The interpretation is not simple reflection, analysis and description, but the being’s mode of being. When the Text lives with the being as the other, the relationship between the Text and the being is not as same as the relationship between the object and the subject, but an equally question-and-answer or communication relationship between each beings. Through the question-and-answer communication, the being understands its own existing, and the growth of the meaning of the being and the Text is realized.Text and language:On the one hand, as the language spreading carrier, the main Hermeneutics significance of the Text is realized by language. On the other hand, in the regard of the being, the language is not only a fundamental horizon of projecting itself, but also its own unique way of dealing with the world. Text was able to become another host living together with the being because of the language itself. Poetic Text is one of the Texts which is closest to the nature of the language, and characteristics of the Poetic Text language determines that the being shows its priority and decisive of its presence.Chapter Three:Aesthetic connotations of Text Thought. According to Gadamer’s Text thinking and words closely related to Gadamer aesthetics was explored.Art and Truth:Defending the legitimacy of the truth unfolding in art works is the starting point of Gadamer’s whole thought. One hand this is a critique of subjectivity aesthetics thinking, the other hand is a redefinition for the nature of art. Art is a meet with itself of the being’s presence, and works of art can own the ability of the Being unfolding. That is to say, art can provide the truth. Moreover, the legitimacy of the truth can be realized by poetry Text to the maximum extent, because poetry Text provides a human and divine world, and only in this world, the Being could show out with no extent.The Relevance of the Beautiful:Gadamer’s definition of beautiful is based on the defense of the legitimacy of the work of art. Gadamer considered works of art that Beauty is a kind of self-reproduction with no purpose and the joy for self-reperfomance independent of utility. And it actually refers to the appearance of the works of art when facing with the being. This show is a realistic nature. That is to say, at the moment the being encountering with the works of art, the timing of this moment can bring the growth and generation on both sides of the being and the works of art. This generation is described in detail by the festival features in Gadamer’s thought.The play of Text:Whether the truth shown by works of art, or the being generated by the relevance of the beautiful, in Gadamer’s Hermeneutics is a kind of play between the Text and the interpreter. This paly performs itself at rules set by play-itself independent on the interpreter. Therefore, this play is distinct with Kant and Schiller’s aesthetic play. The play of Text is always expressed as the dialogue between Text and the interpreter. Furthermore, this performance is not only a specific way for the generation of the being’s presence, but also the basis of the agreement of mutual understanding between people and establishment human social community.The Practice on Texts:Gadamer’s Text thinking is not just theoretical, but also practical. Through a series of poetry criticism, Gadamer personally practice to listen to poetic Texts, as well as dialogue with poetic Texts, and further confirms the connotation of his Text thought. From the interpretation of poets created by Goethe, Holderlin, Georg, Rilke and others, Gadamer revealed human poetic existence could realize in the world filled with humanity and divinity residing only in poetry.Value and Criticism:With the meaning that the modern aesthetics is actually a ontology thought, Gadamer’s Text thinking can be regarded as an aesthetic thinking. Gadamer’s Text thought reveals how the Text display and grow with the contact with the being, highlighting the legitimacy of poetic Texts for truth and poetic Texts’ adscription of human Being. However, in Gadamer’s Text thought, there are also contradictions cannot be ignored,Namely, Gadamer’s thinking of Being is based on the beings, and this humanitarian point of departure is undoubtedly a metaphysical residue, which Habermas and Derrida has questioned.Conclusion:According to Gadamer’s Hermeneutics focusing on the Text enlightenment, a similar ideological resources in China can be found. In the " Wenxindiaolong", Liuxie discussed in detail in respect of the similar thinking, such as greatly focusing on classical Texts,and complying with the idea of classical Texts. After looking through Liuxie’s Text thought compared with Gadamer’s, it is not only better highlight the characteristic of Gadamer’s Text thought, but also able to offer some introspection for overcoming the confine of Gadamer’s thought and contributing Chinese own philosophical Hermeneutics.