On the method of multiple attestation

Abstract

Hermeneutics, as a method in philosophical research, refined a large part of its tools in the 20th century thanks to the research of M. Heidegger, H.-G. Gadamer and P. Ricoeur. Heidegger had the courage to show that understanding and interpretation have an ontological dimension, not just a technical one; while Gadamer and Ricoeur were able to develop the consequences of that statement. This study echoes the recovery of the attestation phenomenon by Ricoeur, drawing attention to the importance of opinion and trust in the method that refers to the support of tradition.