ABSTRACT

Hans-Georg Gadamer represents one of the most influential figures in the development of 20" century hermeneutics. Gaddamer in his work developed a distinctive and thorough dialogical approach grounded in platonic thinking. Hermeneutics as an authentic discipline has developed over the period to become a more encompassing theory of textual interpretation in gospel, a set of rules that provide the basis for good interpretation practice no matter the Subject matter. Understanding on the other hand, operates on the grounds of such anticipatory structures that allow what is to interpreted or understood to be grasped preliminarily. In this paper, Gadamer is seen to maintain that hermeneutics is not a method of understanding but an attempt to clarify the conditions in which understanding takes place.