The Agon of Interpretations: Towards a Critical Intercultural Hermeneutics

335 Pages·2014·1.214 MB·English

by  Ming Xie

THE AGON OF INTERPRETATIONS
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The Agon of Interpretations
Towards a Critical
Intercultural Hermeneutics
EDITED BY MING XIE
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS
Toronto Buffalo London
© University of Toronto Press 2014
Toronto Buffalo London
www.utppublishing.com
Printed in the U.S.A.
ISBN 978-1-4426-4353-6 (cloth)

Printed on acid-free, 100% post-consumer recycled paper with
vegetable-based inks.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
The agon of interpretations : towards a critical intercultural hermeneutics /
edited by Ming Xie.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4426-4353-6 (bound)
1. Hermeneutics. 2. Intercultural communication. I. Xie, Ming, 1958–,
editor of compilation
BD241.A36 2014 121'.686 C2014-901327-2
University of Toronto Press acknowledges the fi nancial assistance to its
publishing program of the Canada Council for the Arts and the
Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario.
University of Toronto Press acknowledges the fi nancial support of the
Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund for its publishing
activities.
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction: Towards a Critical Intercultural Hermeneutics 3
ming xie
Part One: Resources of Phenomenology and Hermeneutics
1 The Intercultural Horizon of Contemporary
Understanding 23
ian angus
2 Do Gadamer and Ricoeur Have the Same Understanding of
Hermeneutics? 43
jean grondin
3 The Commonality of the World and the Intercultural Element:
Meaning, Culture, and Chora 65
suzi adams
4 Comparing the Incomparable: Crossing Intercultural
Borders 83
bernhard waldenfels
5 World, Home, and Hermeneutic Phenomenology 99
r. radhakrishnan
vi Contents
Part Two: Intercultural Complications and Problematics
6 Objects and Orientalism 123
graham harman
7 Understanding, Misunderstanding, and the Critical Function
of Hermeneutics in Cross-Cultural Studies 140
zhang longxi
8 Universal Values or Cultural Relativity: A Pointless Question 156
hans-georg moeller
9 Reconciling the Tension between Similarity and Difference
in Critical Hermeneutics 165
david b. wong
Part Three: Expanding Horizons: Empathy, Dialogue,
Critique, Wisdom
10 Some Observations on the Prospects of Intercultural
Hermeneutics in a Global Framework 187
mihai i. spariosu
11 Intercultural Understanding in Philosophical Hermeneutics 210
lawrence k. schmidt
12 Making Sense of Critical Hermeneutics: Pragmatist
Reflections 233
richard shusterman and wojciech małecki
13 Critical Interventions: Towards a Hermeneutical Rejoinder 252
lorenzo c. simpson
14 Empathy, Dialogue, Critique: How Should We Understand
(Inter)Cultural Violence? 275
hans-herbert kögler
Afterword: Contesting the Real 302
ming xie
List of Contributors 309
Index 311
Acknowledgments
I want to express my sincere thanks to all the contributors to this vol-
ume for their support, engagement, and patience.
I am very grateful to Richard Ratzlaff, my editor at the University
of Toronto Press, for supporting this project and for shepherding it
through its various stages. I would also like to record my thanks to Bar-
bara Porter at the press for her help and patience and to Matthew Kudelka
for his copy editing.
The positive comments and helpful suggestions by the anonymous
readers for the press are also gratefully acknowledged here.
MX, Toronto
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THE AGON OF INTERPRETATIONS