Tradition And Tradition: The Importance Of Tradition

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So far it could be inferred that truth is ubiquitous, fundamental and essential to crystallize human knowledge of the world, in this way that one thinks and understands the world based on one’s combination of dialects, interactions, and experiences through the world. Behind every claim and belief lies many other beliefs; It is the work of understanding to expose and consequently affirm or negate them. These ‘other beliefs’ are what Gadamer calls Prejudice; they are the very source of our knowledge and consequently the very source of our doubts. Prejudice along with individual interests, questions, and problems constitute an individual’s Tradition. Critics have questioned Gadamer for what they thought was a conservative approach toward tradition that blindly and readily would accept a tradition without criticizing it. …show more content…

First, that accepting tradition by no means deprives one of the rights to question or change it, rather it means that owing to the fact that one cannot start from a tradition-free stance, one has to accept a tradition. The second point is that accepting a tradition is to make it one’s own by modifying it. A successful effort to liven up a tradition requires changing it to make it relevant for the current context. Hegelian influence on Gadamer is understandable through the fact that refusal of some elements of tradition relies on the preservation of other elements, which are then taken up in new ways. This property of productivity and activity is what makes prejudice and tradition important for Gadamer because one only has understood properly when one is able to make changes resulting in new

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