Abstract
This paper compares and contrasts the similarities and differences between the hermeneutical views of Martin Heidegger and Hans George Gadamer. The latter was a student of the former, and although his ideas were deeply influenced by those of Heidegger, Gadamer's work concentrated on applied hermeneutics. Heidegger, however, had worked on the understanding of being-a central question asked by philosophers of earlier times.

Tags:views, heidegger, gadamer

Abstract
Hermeneutics is the art of understanding or interpretation. This paper discusses hermeneutics in terms of Gadamer's book, "Hermeneutics, Tradition and Reason." It attempts to define hermeneutics and discusses other ideas that Gadamer suggests are important, such as horizon, subjectivism and dialogical structure of understanding. It also examines a critique by German philosopher, Jurgen Habarmas against Gadamer and his hermeneutics.

From the Paper
"Gadamer believes that our understanding of beings and things should not be limited to just the objective conditions that make knowledge possible (as Kant had originally thought), but instead and more importantly, a long process of interpretation, which is in fact neither subjective or objective as it involves the interaction of both the individual or subject and the object to be interpreted. The object in question could be an image, ritual or anything that can be interpreted. The idea of interpretation as a necessary tool for understanding is important for other philosophers such as Heidegger who also believed that language becomes central to Dasein's existence (to be there). "

Tags:application, effective, game, habarmas, horizon, language, prejudices, wittgenstein

Abstract
This ten-page freshmen level paper on Life and Achievements Of Hans A. Bethe gives a detailed analysis on the life time achievements of Dr. Hans A. Bethe. This paper also focuses on the impact his work had on the society and how it helped in discouraging the usage and development of nuclear weapons. This paper primarily concentrates on the living legend, Dr. Hans, among the physics community who helped in shaping the outlook of Physics.

Abstract
The paper reviews the book, "The Crusades", where Hans Eberhard Mayer presents a comprehensive history of the Crusades. The paper shows how Mayer uses the context of the societies that produced the crusaders to explain how and why they happened. The paper also discusses how Mayer dispels the notion that the Crusades were a single movement carried out by a united European front on a monolithic Muslim people. In addition, the paper explains Mayer's idea that there were many Crusades that happened for many different reasons and produced many different and mostly disastrous results.

From the Paper
"In his book, The Crusades, Hans Eberhard Mayer presents a comprehensive history of the Crusades. Although this book was first published in Germany and translated into English in 1965, its subject has taken on new and deeper relevance now, forty years later. Mayer uses the context of the societies that produced the crusaders to explain how and why they happened. As Mayer describes it, the people of the emerging states of Europe had existed largely in isolation since the heyday of the Roman Empire. They had literally come to believe that they were the center of the universe. The fact that the pope and the capitals of the eastern and western empires (Rome and Constantinople) were all in the northern Mediterranean region was proof of this. According to Mayer, the crusades changed European consciousness towards the Muslim people and culture beyond their borders."

Tags:Muslims, Christians, Jerusalem, Europeans, Holy, Land

Abstract
This paper gives an introduction into Georg Simmel's conflict theory as a sociologically classic. It also references some of his multivaried essays and his master work "The Philosophy of Money" as instances of his conflict-theory standpoint.

From the Paper
"Georg Simmel, though a gifted and even famous academician and lecturer, could not obtain a tenured professorship at the University of Berlin and indeed had to do two doctoral dissertations before receiving a degree. Anti-Semitism seems to have been involved. (Staudenmeier) Though his admirers and patrons included Husserl and Weber, Simmel only obtained a professorship late in life and that was interfered with because the appointment came in the first year of the Great War. Small wonder that despite the wide range of subjects..."

Tags:simmel, conflict-theory, money, conflict theoyry

Abstract
The paper attempts to determine whether Georg Simmel's micro-sociological analysis is the most appropriate explanation of social phenomena. The paper asserts that although theorists like Emile Durkheim and Max Weber criticize much of Simmel's work, the theories put forward by Simmel are more relevant to contemporary views of society and reality than many of the earlier modernist theories in sociology. The paper suggests that his work be reassessed in light of its possible contribution to contemporary research and sociological speculation.

From the Paper
"It can be argued that in many ways Georg Simmel's work prefigures a more postmodern approach to the understanding of society and social action. More specifically, Simmel's work is founded in the analysis of the meaning of social interaction in groups. This search for "meaning' is more speculative and philosophical and less formally scientific and objective in comparison to theorists such as Durkheim and Weber.
"In attempting to answer the central question of this paper -- whether Simmel's "micro-sociological analysis" is the best and most appropriate explanation of social phenomena -- the point of view will be asserted is that the theories or analyses put forward by Simmel are more in tune with and relevant to contemporary views of society and reality than many of the earlier modernist theories in Sociology. This also leads to the suggestion that his work is in need of reassessment in the light of its possible contribution to contemporary research and sociological speculation."

Tags:society, reality, modernism, meaning

Abstract
This paper is a biographical description of the work of Georg Cantor and his work in the development of set theory. In his time, these hypotheses were considered greatly controversial by other mathematicians. However, now they are an integral part of the study of mathematics.

From the Paper
"Georg attended several private schools in Frankfurt, and in 1859, entered the distinguished Grossherzoglich Hessiche Provinzialrealschule in Darmstadt. He left this institution in 1860 with high recommendations in mathematics. His father discouraged the study of math due to the fact that he wished him to become an engineer, a job that paid considerably more than mathematics. He originally attended Grossherzogliche Hoehere Gewerbeschule (Grand-Ducal Higher Polytechnic, later changed to Technische Hochschule) at Darmstadt following his father's wishes and studying Engineering. Later, when Georg convinced his father that his heart was truly in math, his father relented and he began the study of Mathematics in 1862 (Johnson, 1997). "

Tags:set, theory, mathematics, elements, hypothesis, mental, illness

Abstract
This paper defines Hermeneutics as "the theory or philosophy of the interpretation of meaning". This paper examines the origins of this philosophy in order to better understand its uses today. After discussing the major contributors to the development of this study, the paper mentions some writings which provide a hermetical analysis of literature. These include Leonard Orr's "De-structuring the Novel: Essays in Applied Postmodern Hermeneutics" and Hans-Georg Gadamer's "Dialogue and Dialectic: Eight Hermeneutical Studies on Plato".

From the Paper
"Furthermore, hermeneutical criticism is often compared to a dialogue. The reader and the text respond to each other until understanding is reached. This hermeneutic conversation avoids the one-sidedness that is associated with other critical approaches. Gadamer believes that it allows the interpreter to use questions as the "universal mediator in the dialectic between the prejudice prior to the encounter with the work and the new element which denounces it . . ."(Orr Dictionary 231). Theorists refer to the conversation between the interpreter and text as spiel (game or play). But David Haliburton warns that calling this interaction play does not "reduce it to a hedonistic pastime . . . playing is a high and serious act" (Orr Dictionary 232). And unlike other types of play, such as chess, the game is an ongoing process that never ends."

Tags:orr, gadamer, plato

Abstract
This paper discusses how Hegel, a son of his times, reflects his times in his writings, where he takes the measure of his historical moment. In particular, the paper examines the political thought in Hegel's book "The Philosophy of History" with a focus on an analysis of the Zeitgeist. The paper delves into the implications of some major socio-political upheavals as well as the Church as seen in Hegel's book and then gives a discussion on the influences that Hegel had, which affected his stand and writings in some way or another.

Outline:
Introduction
The Revolution and the Church
The Influence He Had
Conclusion

From the Paper
"It is important to know something about Hegel's life and times since, according to Hegel, philosophy necessarily reflects its own times, the times to which a particular thinker belongs (Rockmore, 2003, p. 40). Hegel lived to see a world in conflict. He lived in a time when a number of socio-political upheavals took place, namely: the American Revolution, the French Revolution, the Napoleonic wars, and the aftermath of those wars. These historical events took their respected attention and weight in the writings of Hegel as can be seen in his book The Philosophy of History, which practically discusses the progression of historical events from chaotic and troubled times characterized by conflicts towards that where the Spirit is realized in full or that of a perfect state. It is only after a fact that we can see that a long series of unnoticed changes have brought about a significant transformation in political life or philosophical thought (Fiala, 2003, p. 61)."

Tags:Zeitgeist, church

Abstract
This paper traces the beliefs and development of Lukacs and his belief in the cultural manifestations of reality and the creation of an ideological utopia through his beliefs and experiences.