Hermenêutica da tradição ou crítica das ideologias? O debate entre Hans-Georg Gadamer & Jürgen Habermas

Abstract

This paper presents the debate between Jürgen Habermas and Hans-Georg Gadamer. Such a debate took place from 1960 to 1980 and was initiated with the publication of “Truth and Method” (Gadamer, 1960), which took the form of a philosophical dialog and resulted in criticism, rejoinder and answer. Not only did it clarify the proximities and possibilities of joint work between Hermeneutics and Critical Theory but also formalized the distance and the impossibilities of agreement between these two theoretical perspectives. The focus of the debate between the two authors refers mainly to the emphasis Gadamer gave to the preconceptions and the authority in the construction of reality. This emphasis has served as a reflection point for Habermas in his criticism towards technique and science, both understood as maintenance devices of the status quo. Habermas questions whether the hermeneutic model can rescue the commitment of human emancipation for knowledge.