Philosophical Hermeneutics in Practice: Fred Dallmayr, Comparative Political Theory and Cosmopolitanism
| DOI | 10.3366/jipt.2011.0018 |
| Date | 01 October 2011 |
| Author | Richard Shapcott |
| Published date | 01 October 2011 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
PHILOSOPHICAL HERMENEUTICS IN PRACTICE: FRED
DALLMAYR, COMPARATIVE POLITICAL THEORY
AN D COSMOPOLITANISM
RICHARD SHAPCOTT
Dallmayr’s Contribution and Practice
It is clear that philosophical hermeneutics is good for you. Both Fred Dallmayr
and Hans Georg-Gadamer have proven that they have solved the enigma of
health by living to a very grand age. Not only living but remaining intellectually
active and attentive to current debates, as well as contributing to and shaping
those debates.
The purpose of my paper is to reflect upon Fred Dallmayr’s achievements, his
relationship to philosophical hermeneutics and the development of comparative
political theory as a subdiscipline. My aim is to remind us of how philosophical
hermeneutics can be done but also to offer some reflections on what it brings to
comparative political theory and, further, how I think the project of comparative
political theory relates to broader contemporary debates in political theory such
as cosmopolitanism.
Where Gadamer’s contribution was to articulate and redefine the tradition
of hermeneutics in light of Heideggerian philosophy of being, Dallmayr’s
contributions have been, I think, to practice philosophical hermeneutics. By
this I mean he has engaged in the practice of translation, interpretation,
message bringing, bridging and truth seeking. Dallmayr’s place in contemporary
political thinking is somewhat unique. The overall trajectory of Dallmayr’s
work has consisted not of the expounding of grand theory, nor the mere
reinterpretation of the canon but far more importantly, and difficult,the bridging
and bringing together, or dare I say, fusion of different traditions of political
thought. This task has included the attempt to build bridges and identify
complementarities between Frankfurt critical theory, Heidelberg hermeneutics,
and Parisian poststructuralism.
In more recent times, and I think of even greater importance, the engagement
has greatly expanded to include the non-Western traditions of political thought.
Journal of International Political Theory, 7(2) 2011, 229–238
DOI: 10.3366/jipt.2011.0018
© Edinburgh University Press 2011
www.eupjournals.com/jipt
229
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