Truth Understand Dialogue

Among numerous aesthetic schools in the 20th century, the German philosopher Hans-Georg Gadamer uniquely established the theoretical system of the modern Hermeneutic Aesthetics on the basis of his Philosophical Hermeneutics. On one hand, with the same train of thought as Heidegger's Ontological Aesthetics, he unfolded the criticism of the completely subjective inclination resulted from the Kant's thoughts, studied and pursued the truth of the beautiful and the art, and due to them, he perceived the artistic works as the Seiende of Dasein-slyle existent mode just like a play. So, he not only maintained the unity of the beautiful and the true persisted by the western traditional aesthetics and the essential connection of the art and cognition, but also transcended the epistemology mode of the traditional aesthetics which features the separation of the subject and object. Thus, he set up a new solid standpoint for the western aesthetics. On the other lumd, when he was researching the aesthetic experience and artistic activities designed to be an important way and basic pattern of understanding, Gadamer laid special emphasis on the historicism of understanding , the fundamental principle of the philosophical Hermeneutics. He pointed out that the artistic activities were historic understanding ones of non-cognition which were limited by the traditions and prejudices. They specifically embodied a continuous course of the fusion of horizon occurring between the historical horizon of the artistic text and the current horizon of the people who wanted to understand. Moreover, because the understanding activities were language-related by nature, the course of fusion of horizon was indeed a course of infinite and historic dialogue between the artistic text and the person who wanted to understand. Obviously, the reading and understanding of the artistic text became the central issue of Gadamer's philosophy. It directly led to the shift of research focus from the works to the readers and reception, and caused the overall revolution of the whole artistic concept.Undoubtedly, through the research by the above-mentioned two aspects, Gadamer's Hermeneutics Aesthetics not only upheld the aesthetic tradition, but enlightened the new orientation of the aesthetics as well. It greatly promoted and carried forward the western aesthetics. What's more, the positive elements of his theory are very instructive and enlightening for the healthy development of our nation's aesthetics. Therefore, it deserves our special attention and penetrating research.