Hermeneutics of G. Oberhammer in the Сontext of 20th Century West European Philosophy and Theology. Oberhammer, Gerhard, “Versuch einer transzendentalen Hermeneutik religiöser Traditionen”, Fragment, Transl. by Ludmila E. Kryshtop

Abstract

The article concerns the work of Gerhard Oberhammer, one of the most famous German-speaking Indologists and philosophers of the 20thcentury. Besides the studies on the sacred texts of the religious traditions of Ancient India, Ober­hammer wrote a number of articles devoted to the consideration of more general philosophical and religious issues. On the basis of indological material, Oberham­mer develops a universal method (transcendental hermeneutics) of studying and analyzing both the religious experience of individuals and the religious traditions that appear and develop on its ground. This article discusses in detail some of the general philosophical presuppositions of the transcendental religious hermeneu­tics method formed by Oberhammer, analyzes the philosophical and theological con­text of Oberhammer’s work, identifies sources of possible influence on the arising and development of Oberhammer’s thought. In the course of the comparison, the au­thor highlights traits of similarities and differences between the philosophical views of Oberhammer and the philosophy and theology of Karl Rahner. The article contains a translated from German fragment of the Oberhammer’s program article Versuch einer transzendentalen Hermeneutik religiöser Traditionen.