Language and the Diversification of Human Experience: An Exploration of Gadamer’s Linguisticality

Abstract

This paper explores the concept of language in the framework of philosophical hermeneutics, with a focus on Gadamer’s notion of language as linguisticality. According to Gadamer, Language is intrinsically linked with understanding, which is the fundamental mode of human existence in the world. He critiques the role of language as simply a tool in Western metaphysics since Plato, and asserts instead that it is language that defines the entire horizon of understanding. By taking literature as an exemplary paradigm of hermeneutic experience, the study investigates the concept of linguisticality — the ontological nature of language. Through the understanding of literary works, readers can gain a better opportunity to affirm, refine and diversify their original experience and approach a level of authenticity that is rarely acknowledged in everyday life.