Abstract
In his 1972 essay “The Incapacity for Conversation” (“Die Unfähigkeit zum Gespräch”) Gadamer takes up the question of whether changes in society have made it such that we are losing our ability to participate in dialogue. By the end of the essay he argues that this is not the case and that the claim that someone is incapable of dialogue is merely an excuse for not listening to the other person. Over the course of the essay Gadamer provides a clarification of what exactly counts as a conversation and of how conversation is connected to friendship.
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“Die Unfähigkeit zum Gespräch” in Gesammelte Werke, vol. 2, Hermeneutik II: Wahrheit und Methode, Ergänzungen (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1993), 207–15. This was originally a radio lecture given in 1971, and published in Universitas 26 (1971): 1295–1304. It was reprinted in Gadamer’s Kleine Schriften, vol. 4 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck), 109–17. Special thanks to Peter Adamson for helpful suggestions for making the translation more conversational.
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Vessey, D., Blauwkamp, C. Hans-Georg Gadamer “The Incapacity for Conversation” (1972). Cont Philos Rev 39, 351–359 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11007-006-9041-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11007-006-9041-2