Gadamer on Kant and the problem of prejudice

A critical reading

Resumen

The hermeneutical rehabilitation of prejudice carried out by Hans-Georg Gadamer, often understood as a response to the modern reduction of prejudice to a mere source of error, contributes to recovering the role of tradition as a source of truth. However, his conception of prejudice seems to overlook the contribution of Immanuel Kant in relation to his distinction between prejudices and preliminary judgments. Kant’s sustained reflection on these topics shows a remarkable proximity with Gadamer with respect to the acknowledgment of a permanently autocorrective and anticipatory awareness that accompanies every ongoing process of judgment. Moreover, in contrast to Gadamer — who refers to true and false prejudices — Kant also draws a thin but sharp line between preliminary judgments and prejudices, thereby introducing a critical criterion.