The function of tradition in understanding in Gadamer's philosophical hermeneutics

In his works, Hans-Georg Gadamer discusses the effects and function of tradition on comprehension in his own conceptions and expresses his views on this issue. The aim of this study is to reveal the relationship between comprehension and tradition which plays a central role in Hans-Georg Gadamer's philosophical hermeneutics.In the introduction part of this study, which consists of an introduction and two chapters, explanations on the subject, limitations, method, importance and literature review were tried to be shown. In the first part of the thesis, the hermeneutical views which are effective in shaping Hans- Georg Gadamer's philosophical hermeneutics were discussed. Gadamer is critical of these hermeneutical views and follows Heidegger's way of addressing hermeneutics on the ontological level. For Gadamer, comprehension cannot be handled in a hermeneutical, methodical way since it is a basic feature of human beings.In the second part of our study, some basic concepts were discussed in the context of the relationship between comprehension and tradition. According to Gadamer, comprehension is made possible by tradition and prejudices inherited from tradition. Therefore, tradition is shaping the effectiveness of comprehension and interpretation. The effect of tradition on comprehension becomes comprehensible with the help of concepts such as supporting authority, prejudice, temporal distance, effective historical consciousness, fusion of horizons, question-answer dialectics, language and phronesis.In the conclusion part, the concept of tradition, which Gadamer criticizes Schleiermacher and Dilthey's hermeneutic views and developed through Heidegger's views on existential hermeneutics, who is the founder of ontological hermeneutics, is discussed. Within the framework of his relationship between understanding and tradition, the concepts of prejudice, temporal distance, fusion of horizons, question-answer dialectic, language and phronesis that reveal his idea of tradition were analyzed. According to this, it is concluded that Gadamer emphasizes tradition without abstracting people from their historical context in the activity of understanding and interpretation. Keywords: Comprehension, Hermeneutics, Horizon, Interpretation, Prejudice, Tradition