Dr. Patricia Johnson on "Practical Reasoning, Conversation, and Friendship"

Pat Johnson's article "Practical Reasoning, Conversation, and Friendship" has been published in Gadamer's Hermeneutics and the Art of Conversation, edited by Andrzej Wierenski. This is Volume 2 of International Studies in Hermeneutics and Phenomenology.

While Aristotle’s work is the impetus for much contemporary thought about practical reasoning, it cannot sufficiently encompass the practical reasoning that is needed for our times. Hans-Georg Gadamer frequently acknowledges that his reading of Aristotle’s ethical works, particularly in conjunction with Heidegger’s seminar on the Nicomachean Ethics, is fundamental to his work in philosophical hermeneutics. Gadamer’s thought about practical reasoning is a major contribution to the work that needs to be done to help us collectively think about how we shall live in the twenty-first century. The paper shows how Gadamer’s philosophical hermeneutics, and especially his reflections on conversation, can serve as the basis for a contemporary schema for practical reasoning, looks at what he has to say about the role of friendship for practical reasoning, and finally offers some suggestions as to how we should think about friendship in order to better think about practical reasoning.