ON PHILOSOPHICAL HERMENEUTICS AND THE RELIGIOUS OTHER: RELIGIOUS TRANSCENDENCE IN HERMENEUTICS AND THE CHALLENGES OF INTER-RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE

Abstract

This paper attempts to elucidate the task of philosophical hermeneutics of Gadamer in clearing the ground for a global dialogue on the issue of inexpressible alterity, a form of religious transcendence that would integrate the great world religions. In order to satisfy the paper’s humble attempt, the discussion would be divided into three sections: First, is to situate the ethos of philosophical hermeneutics by providing insights on how philosophical hermeneutics and its habit of thinking deal with the other. Second, is to deal with the notion of religious transcendence and how Gadamer’s religious turn gives us an insight on how we can prepare for a global dialogue by discovering the limits of our existence, and the common expressions in all religions, “an expression of transcendence that describes what touches us all.” Lastly, the paper proceeds on how religions should deal with others by laying the structure of the ethics of dialogue as illuminated by the hermeneutic consciousness provided by Gadamer himself. This portion touches the challenges posed by the idea of religious transcendence in hermeneutics and how challenges are to be dealt using the ethics of dialogue, thus allowing us to examine the applicability of hermeneutic tools in preparing for a global inter-religious dialogue.