The middle voice in Gadamer's hermeneutics

Philippe Eberhard presents a medial interpretation of Hans-Georg Gadamer's philosophical hermeneutics, exploring its theological implications regarding faith and the human condition from a Christian humanist perspective. He emphasizes the middle voice as a means to articulate the act of listening to language and the Word. Eberhard's thesis consists of two main points: first, the hermeneutic event is inherently medial, balancing the event of understanding that occurs to the subject with the active role of the subject in understanding. Second, this mediality is crucial for the theological significance of hermeneutics, as both understanding and faith are medial experiences that continually reshape our understanding of humanity in the world. The author examines the middle voice from both linguistic and philosophical angles, noting its absence in most commentaries on Gadamer, where mediality often remains implicit. He describes understanding as an event influenced by Gadamer's concepts of play, fusion of horizons, and linguistic speculation, while also considering the subject's active involvement in this process. Eberhard critiques Gadamer's tendency to overlook the Christian kerygma in his hermeneutic framework, arguing instead for its inclusion alongside faith. He concludes that while faith is a hermeneutic experience, it transcends mere understanding by continually questioning the world that serves as our home.