„Entschmelzung der Horizonte“. Reflektiertes Gleichgewicht und Verstehensgleichgewicht

The first section of the paper deals with the ontological presuppositions and the limits of the ‘fusion of horizons’, a central concept in Gadamer’s philosophical hermeneutics. Is it possible to substitute for Gadamer’s ‘fusion of horizons’ a form of equilibrium? First, a rational reconstruction shows how the concept of equilibrium is applied in logics and epistemology (Goodman), in ethics (Rawls) and finally in a theory of understanding (Elgin). Then, the paper tries to assess accomplishments and shortcomings of Abel’s ‘equilibrium of understanding’ (Verstehensgleichgewicht), showing that in this concept the metaphor of equilibrium must stand for a new content, since here it cannot stand for coherence and cannot be a criterion of understanding. Hence the equilibrium has another function. It is rather a synonym of understanding. The ‘equilibrium of understanding’ is a model of understanding, but only in the sense that it merely describes a typical case in which disruptions of understanding are resolved.