Goodness: Beauty, Ethics and Value
摘要
Gadamer is known for his writings on aesthetics, health and pedagogy, but few think of them as constituting a larger axiological project of exploring the nature of the Good. This chapter explores his often-implicit ethics and value theory, and the way it tries to resolve the schism between facts and values, Being and the Good. It looks at his dynamic, transformative account of value (again drawing on the analogy with play), and see how it reveals a human desire to be changed by immersive experiences of value, unlocking new degrees and forms of holistic flourishing. This view has connections to Plato, Aristotle and the idea of a hidden harmony in all things, and it is demonstrated in his accounts of beauty and physical health. Yet while it may seem to favour a conservative leaning towards the status quo, we see how—contrary to some critiques of Gadamer—it actually values fruitful disruptions, challenges, diversity and new growth.