Abstract
The aim of the first part of this chapter is to show the network of the most relevant concepts of philosophic hermeneutics and to present their vital connection to Aristotle’s idea of practical philosophy. The author elaborates the fundamental notions of prejudice, hermeneutical circle, tradition, situation, effective-historical consciousness, fusion of horizons and application. The explanation of the mentioned concepts intends to legitimize Gadamer’s central thesis that our understanding is never mere subject-oriented behavior. On the contrary, it is always historically limited. In this context, the notion of prejudice loses its negative connotation and represents not only the link with our tradition, but also the original source of all our judgments. The second part of the paper deals with the universal requirement of the method of natural sciences by contrast with experiences of art and the humanities (Geisteswissenschaften). One cannot recognize the meaning of humanities once they are excluded from the horizon of praxis. Moreover, humanities are moral sciences and the concept of progress, so common in the terminology of natural sciences, cannot be applied to them. Their very purpose is human self-understanding
