Gadamer: A Guide for the Perplexed

Chris Lawn is Lecturer in Philosophy at Limerick University. He is the author of Wittgenstein and Gadamer (2004), also published by Continuum.

• Preface; Chapter 1: The Problems of Reading Gadamer; Chapter 2: Who is Gadamer?; Chapter 3: What is Hermeneutics?; Chapter 4: Philosophical Hermeneutics: From Hermeneutics to. Philosophy; Chapter 5: Key Ideas in Truth and Method; Chapter 6: Practical Hermeneutics: Aesthetics, Education and; Medicine; Conclusion; Glossary; Bibliography; Index.

"Chris Lawn, Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Limerick, has written the best introduction to the work and life of Hans-Georg Gadamer so far. It admirably fulfils the task of Continuum's series, Guides for the Perplexed, of offering ‘clear, concise and accessible introductions to thinkers, writers and subjects that students and readers can find especially challenging - or, indeed, downright bewildering', but it is much more than that...It is amazing that Lawn, who apparently never met Gadamer, has such as acute understanding of the man and his thought - something that Gadamer himself, who really disliked the biographical approach, would have very much appreciated. In fact, one of the qualities of the book is that it is truly hermeneutical and indeed Gadamerian, oriented, as such a book should be, towards understanding. Perhaps Lawn's combination of sympathy and distance was ideal for this task. The book is very well written and pedagogically masterful; the dutkus is dramatic and interest-stimulating, and the style is elegant, non-verbose and pleasant to read. Throughout, Lawn avoids oversimplifications." -Wolfgang Drechsler, Philosophy in Review