The limitations of the concept of historicism

Main Article Content

Alexandre de Freitas de Mello Júnior

Abstract

The present work aims to perform a deep analysis of a very specific aspect of contemporary philosophy: the critical reception of historicism by philosophical hermeneutics. The addressed issue is about the proposal of historical consciousness and the inherent aporias [contradiction] in this new starting point of modern philosophical thought. The hypothesis defended here is that hermeneutics


rejects radical historicism because it presents insurmountable internal problems and that, nevertheless, the hermeneutic conscience elaborated by Gadamer intends to solve this question by means of certain characteristics that compose it. The main element that guides Gadamer’s argument in this sense is his concept of “effective history.” Thus, the following script will be elaborated in the exposition of the theme: I will demonstrate 1) the concept of historicism in Gadamarian perspective, taken mainly from the articles “The universality of the hermeneutic problem”, “Hermeneutics and Historicism” and “Continuity of History and The Instant of Existence” published in Truth and Method II; And that (2) the concept of “effective history” answers the problems that Gadamer expounds on the concept of historicism.

Article Details

How to Cite
de Freitas de Mello Júnior, A. (2017). The limitations of the concept of historicism. Brasiliensis, 6(11), 107-120. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8128101
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Articles
Author Biography

Alexandre de Freitas de Mello Júnior

Doutorando em Filosofia pela Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais – UFMG.

How to Cite

de Freitas de Mello Júnior, A. (2017). The limitations of the concept of historicism. Brasiliensis, 6(11), 107-120. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8128101