Permanecer junto a los griegos. Ética, dialéctica y política en la filosofía temprana de Hans-Georg Gadamer

For decades, the reception of Hans-Georg Gadamer has been shaped above all by the extraordinary influence of Truth and Method, leaving the writings in which his philosophical thought first took shape largely overlooked. This book revisits that crucial period to reconstruct the young Gadamer’s intellectual development and show that, long before his best-known work, the fundamental questions that would inform his conception of hermeneutics, dialogue and ethical experience were already emerging. Drawing on a meticulous examination of neglected texts, archival sources, correspondence and unpublished documents, Facundo Bey offers a fresh interpretation of Gadamer’s formative years (1918–1942), tracing his critical engagement with Plato, Aristotle, Heidegger and the German philosophical tradition. What emerges is a philosophy in which understanding, the give-and-take of dialogue and practical knowledge take on profound political significance. Rather than reading these early writings simply as a prelude to Truth and Method, Bey brings out their originality, their intellectual independence and their continuing relevance. The result is a major contribution both to scholarship on Gadamer and to broader attempts to rethink the relationships between hermeneutics, ancient philosophy, ethics and politics from a fresh perspective.