To Understand Conflict \- The Hermeneutics of Hans-Georg Gadamer

Tóm tắt

Most of human conflicts are caused by ideological differences, and especially by the fight for power, and human history is the record of unending narratives of various ways to deal with them: the violent means, the peaceful way, the sentimental approach, the rational calculation, the religious faith, the moral virtues, the legal force, etc. That is an uncontestable fact. The problem does not come from difference but from our understanding of it. That decides our acceptance or refusal. This article argues that it is not the difference or the power the primary cause of conflict. It is rather the problem of how one understands the difference, and the way of dealing with power. Individual greed, lust for power, wealth, domination… seduce us to see in difference as a sign of separatism and revolt. That means, it is our view, often one-dimensional, narcissist, chauvinist view of the world that matters. So, the genuine way to approach conflict one of the most fundamental ways to deal with conflict is true understanding. Understanding is both the pre-condition and the actual result of the process of dealing with conflict. To support this view, I take the conflict between the Catholic Church and the state of Vietnam as a case for study. Their difference basically exists and is conscious by them. The point is, it has been misinterpreted, often deliberately, to suit their own interests. In bottom, it is kind of a misunderstanding deeply rooted in prejudice, nourished by dogmatic education, and guided by one’s own interests. Hence, dealing with misunderstanding should be the first step to deal with conflict. Here is the reason of why Gadamer’s hermeneutics is deliberately taken.: to Gadamer, hermeneutics is a science of understanding. Relationship between the State and the Church is always a sensitive subject. Historically, Vietnam considered religion as significant factor for keeping the regime stable, securing the power of leadership and building the nation. That was the case of Confucianism, and Buddhism in the Ly and Tran dynasties. But religion would become a problem if its doctrines are incompatible to the State ideology, as seen in the case of Catholicism. In this situation, hermeneutics of Gadamer could be of great help. A study of the roles of sensus communis, prejudice, tradition, and history, as Gadamer did, is extremely helpful to discover the hidden roots of the conflict and the complexity of the State Church conflict. For this purpose, the paper is divided into three parts: the first part offers a general view of Gadamer’s hermeneutic; the second part analyses Gadamer’s key concepts of sensus communis to understand the hidden cause of conflict; and similarly, the third part deals with Gadamer’s perspectives on prejudice, tradition, and history