A Phenomenology of the polis? Ethics, Dialectic and Hermeneutics in Gadamer's Early Interpretation of Plato

This chapter examines Gadamer’s early interpretation of Plato, focusing on his 1931 work Platos dialektische Ethik, to demonstrate how his understanding of Platonic dialectic as the theory of dialogue’s objective possibility marked a decisive philosophical departure from Heidegger. Through a detailed analysis of Gadamer’s phenomenological reading of the Philebus and his conception of the pólis, the study reveals how his early engagement with Platonic philosophy laid the groundwork for his later development of philosophical hermeneutics. The investigation centres on three interconnected themes: the relationship between dialectic and hermeneutics, the nature of ethico-political understanding, and the significance of genuine dialogue in human finitude. The chapter argues that Gadamer’s interpretation of areté and his conception of the pólis as the mode of being of ‘worldly’ human beings led him to develop a distinctive philosophical position where the ethico-political dimension of understanding emerges through dialogue with others. This early divergence from Heideggerian philosophy—particularly regarding the concepts of Miteinandersein and human finitude—proved crucial for Gadamer’s subsequent philosophical development. The study demonstrates how Gadamer’s initial confrontation with Plato already contained the seeds of a dialogical conception of understanding that would fundamentally shape his mature thought while illuminating the political implications of his break with Heidegger.