Херменеутика као прва философија

Апстракт: У овом раду аутор прати развој херменеутике од античког доба до времена Ханса Георга Гадамера, са циљем да освијетли развојни пут херменеутике од техничке вјештине разумијевања свештених текстова до њеног издвајања у засебну философску диспилину која посматра себе као прву философију. Аутор ово остварује пратећи однос херменеутике и реторике у античко доба, затим бавећи се основама библијске херменеутике, као и херменутиком у патристичко доба. Као примјере патристичке херменеутике аутор користи Оригена и Блаженог Августина. Коначно, највише пажње посвећено је философској мисли Ханса Георга Гадамера, оца савремене херменеутике. У овом контексту, рад се бави утицајем ранијег херменеутичког насљеђа на Гадамера, те питањем односа херменеутике и језика као основног медијума за споразумијевање.

Кључне ријечи: Ханс Георг Гадамер, реторика, библијска егзегеза, језик, предање, значење, херменеутика, прва философија, објективност, истина.

Summary: The author discusses the development of hermeneutics, from its beginning in Antiquity to the 20th century and philosophical ideas proposed by Hans Georg Gadamer. In this process, the author argues, hermeneutics has progressed from the position of a “tool” employed in the understanding of sacred texts, to a philosophical discipline which puts forward a claim to be a universal philosophy. The paper argues that earlier hermeneutical heritage greatly influenced Gadamer’s positioning of hermeneutics as “first philosophy.” The paper examines the place hermeneutics held in Antiquity, from the standpoint of the relationship of hermeneutics and rhetoric. According to the author, it was the ancient rhetoric that enabled Gadamer to identify the written and the spoken word as two sides of the same coin. The next topic the paper deals with is the role hermeneutics played in the Judeo-Christian interpretative frame. The author posits that the idea of the centrality of sacred text, which can be found in the works of ancient biblical commentators, inspired Gadamer to assign the same value to the text as the focus of interpretative effort. He then moves on to examine the role hermeneutics held in Medieval Christian thought through the lens of early Christian philosophers/theologians Origen and Augustine of Hippo. Origen’s allegorical approach to the text enabled postmodern thought to separate the “original” meaning from the meaning created through hermeneutic endeavour. Augustine’s understanding of tradition and language as its main carrier served as the basis for Gadamer’s rehabilitation of tradition and language. Finally, the paper concludes that, on the basis of the earlier heritage, Gadamer was able to connect hermeneutics to the fundamental mode of being. Through the medium of language, which determines the object of a hermeneutic task, we enter into a dialogue with the world around us and assign meaning to it. Hermeneutics hence acquires an existential quality and becomes the basic phenomenon of our existence. As such, hermeneutics “rules” all areas of human thought, including philosophy. In this manner, hermeneutics becomes “first philosophy.”

Key words: Hans Georg Gadamer, rhetoric, biblical exegesis, language, tradition, meaning, hermeneutics, “first philosophy”, objectivity, truth.