과학적 언어와 일상적 언어의 정치적 의미

Abstract

In this article I try to enhance the accountability of Hannah Arendt's political theory by accommodating Hans-Georg Gadamer's hermeneutic thought into it. The focus of the study is given to the similarity of their thoughts in criticizing scientific language while emphasizing the political significance of ordinary language. Arendt points out that the language of scientists qua scientists is not proper to political judgment because of its lack of world-constituting ability. Gadamer also warns that modern technological society will cause a degradation of life-forms and impoverishment of language because the characteristic feature of scientific method as primary renunciation will give abstraction effect to the outcome of the scientific treatment of information and makes it lack some important aspects in it. focusing on the same point both of them heeds to the political significance of ordinary language. However, Arendt cannot give a more radical explication to her concept of sensus communis, the organ of political judgment, while Gadamer cannot explain the political implication of ordinary language. Here it is suggested that sensus communis should be understood in Gadamerian way, and by doing so the formation of political judgment and its communicability can be explicated in a better way.