Interlocution on the Imperative of Understanding: Gadamer's Philosophical Hermeneutics and Cheng's Onto-Hermeneutics

The essay imagines a dialogic interlocution that features the points of convergence and divergence between Hans-Georg Gadamer's philosophical hermeneutics and Chung-ying Cheng's onto-hermeneutics, taking note of the fact the latter is an ongoing response to and revision of the former, to the extent it seeks in construct a theory of reading that takes into account both the phenomenological and ontological dimensions of interpretation and understanding. The essay furthers identifies Cheng's theory as a Eurotropic construct that sensitively represents the Chinese philosophical world-view while strategically employing appropriate western analytical apparatuses.