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Rating: 
Summary: A perspective on Gadamer
Review: "Hermeneutics and the Voice of the Other: Re-reading Gadamer's Philosophical Hermeneutics," by James Risser, is, on the whole, a well-written and accessible text. As the book's subtitle indicates, it is a look at the work of 20th century thinker Hans-Georg Gadamer, whose 1960 book "Truth and Method" looms large in academia. In his introduction, Risser notes that the "aim of this book [...] is to treat philosophical hermeneutics in a more encompassing way, in a way that takes account of the complexity and breadth of the project of philosophical hermeneutics."Risser reflects on the relationship of Gadamer's work to the work of such related thinkers as Heidegger, Kant, Husserl, Kierkegaard, and Derrida. He addresses the concerns of Gadamer critics John Caputo and Richard Bernstein. Risser looks at some specific controversies surrounding Gadamer's work, such as the debate over Gadamer's concept of "prejudice." I found one of the more interesting parts of the book to be Risser's look at the relevance of "Buber's distinction between an I-It relation and an I-Thou relation" to Gadamer's work. I was also intrigued by Risser's thoughts on "the concept of play" ("Spiel" in German) in Gadamer's work. If you're turned off by phrases like "an Aristotelico-Hegelian metaphysics of infinity," you might want to avoid this book. But on the whole I found Risser's prose quite engaging. My main disappointment with the book stems from my expectations regarding the book's title. Risser talks about the voice of the "other," but I didn't see anything in the book which really explored what makes an "other" an "other." In particular, I finished the book wondering what relevance Risser's work (and Gadamer's by extension) has on postmodern debates over difference in race, gender, class, etc. Significantly, such terms as "race," "gender," etc. don't even appear in the index. My advice: supplement your reading of this book with Adrienne Rich's "Blood, Bread, and Poetry" or Audre Lorde's "Sister Outsider." Risser's prose gets a bit "touchy-feely" towards the end, as he reflects on commonalities between poetry and philosophy and waxes poetic himself on such concepts on grace, kindness, friendship, and the "radiant word." (But I admit: I liked the "touchy-feely" stuff.) Not a wholly satisfying book, but nonetheless an admirable achievement.
Rating:
Summary: A perspective on Gadamer
Review: "Hermeneutics and the Voice of the Other: Re-reading Gadamer's Philosophical Hermeneutics," by James Risser, is, on the whole, a well-written and accessible text. As the book's subtitle indicates, it is a look at the work of 20th century thinker Hans-Georg Gadamer, whose 1960 book "Truth and Method" looms large in academia. In his introduction, Risser notes that the "aim of this book [...] is to treat philosophical hermeneutics in a more encompassing way, in a way that takes account of the complexity and breadth of the project of philosophical hermeneutics." Risser reflects on the relationship of Gadamer's work to the work of such related thinkers as Heidegger, Kant, Husserl, Kierkegaard, and Derrida. He addresses the concerns of Gadamer critics John Caputo and Richard Bernstein. Risser looks at some specific controversies surrounding Gadamer's work, such as the debate over Gadamer's concept of "prejudice." I found one of the more interesting parts of the book to be Risser's look at the relevance of "Buber's distinction between an I-It relation and an I-Thou relation" to Gadamer's work. I was also intrigued by Risser's thoughts on "the concept of play" ("Spiel" in German) in Gadamer's work. If you're turned off by phrases like "an Aristotelico-Hegelian metaphysics of infinity," you might want to avoid this book. But on the whole I found Risser's prose quite engaging. My main disappointment with the book stems from my expectations regarding the book's title. Risser talks about the voice of the "other," but I didn't see anything in the book which really explored what makes an "other" an "other." In particular, I finished the book wondering what relevance Risser's work (and Gadamer's by extension) has on postmodern debates over difference in race, gender, class, etc. Significantly, such terms as "race," "gender," etc. don't even appear in the index. My advice: supplement your reading of this book with Adrienne Rich's "Blood, Bread, and Poetry" or Audre Lorde's "Sister Outsider." Risser's prose gets a bit "touchy-feely" towards the end, as he reflects on commonalities between poetry and philosophy and waxes poetic himself on such concepts on grace, kindness, friendship, and the "radiant word." (But I admit: I liked the "touchy-feely" stuff.) Not a wholly satisfying book, but nonetheless an admirable achievement.
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