Bloomsbury Academic Hans-Herbert Kögler’s Critical Hermeneutics

Providing a comprehensive engagement with the work of Hans-Herbert Kögler, this is the first volume to expand upon and critique his distinctive approach to critical theory: critical hermeneutics. In the current climate of crisis, the relevance and fruitfulness of Kögler’s work has never been greater, as he fuses the philosophies of Michel Foucault, Hans Georg Gadamer, and his mentor, Jürgen Habermas, to respond to critical international issues surrounding politics, agency, and society. Working towards a truly non-ethno-centric and global conception of intercultural dialogue, an essential aspect of Kögler’s critical hermeneutics is his account of selfhood as reflexive: socially situated, embodied, and linguistically articulated, permeated by power, but yet critical and creative. Leading international scholars, representing a variety of disciplinary backgrounds, build upon Kögler’s approach in this volume and explore the methodological, theoretical, and applicative scope of critical hermeneutics beyond the Frankfurt School. In doing so, they address some of the most pressing issues facing global society today, from multilingual education to the urgent need for interreligious and intercultural understanding. Closing with a responsefrom Kögler himself, Hans-Herbert Kögler’s Critical Hermeneutics also offers an exclusive account of the philosopher’s contemporary re-appraisal of the core tenets of critical hermeneutics. Review Leading philosophers, social researchers and cultural theorists are contributing to this great book on Hans-Herbert Kögler’s much noticed Critical Hermeneutics. Kögler has invented Critical Hermeneutics as an outstanding progression of the Frankfurt school’s critical theory that is fruitful for research programs and challenging for political praxis. The volume impressively documents the international scale, impact and critique of this promising and singular mix of social philosophy, social research and social criticism. A must-read. --Hauke Brunkhorst, Senior Professor, European University Flensburg, GermanyFor decades now, Hans-Herbert Kögler's work has enriched and expanded our understanding of Critical Theory. Reopening the dialogue with the hermeneutical tradition, integrating the insights of Michel Foucault and taking cosmopolitanism seriously as a political and philosophical commitment were decisive moments in a theoretical development that has given us a sense how a critical social theory of the present might look like. In this fine volume, a group of prominent commentators and interlocutors offer readings, dialogues and, of course, critique to which Kögler responds generously. This is a welcome occasion to witness critical thinking in action. --Martin Saar, professor of social philosophy, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt, GermanyThe best measure of a body of thought is often given by the work to which it gives rise. This is especially true of the thought of Hans-Herbert Kögler and is well-demonstrated by Kurt Mertel and Lubomír Dunaj’s excellent collection of essays on Kögler’s Critical Hermeneutics. The volume not only makes a valuable contribution to the critical and hermeneutic literature, and to the discussion of a range of important and challenging issues, but it is also a testament to the contemporary significance of Kögler’s work and its synthesizing and innovative character. --Jeff Malpas, Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, University of Tasmania, Australia About the Author L'ubomír Dunaj is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the University of Vienna, Austria. Kurt C. M. Mertel is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at the American University of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.