Abstract

This project explores how political vocabularies and interpretive frameworks shape our capacity for genuine democratic dialogue. Through the lens of philosophical hermeneutics, I examine how institutions maintain hermeneutical injustice by privileging certain interpretations while marginalizing others. Beginning with Gadamer's insights on prejudice and tradition, I develop the concept of "constitutional determinism" to describe how dominant narratives about American history close off political possibilities and prevent meaningful engagement with our shared past. I argue that healthy democratic politics requires viewing hermeneutics as an ecosystem that needs active maintenance and equitable distribution of interpretive resources. Drawing on thinkers like Miranda Fricker and Hannah Arendt, I demonstrate how the degradation of this ecosystem creates conditions where fascist tendencies can flourish, while showing that renewed dialogical engagement with tradition offers a path toward more open and just political understanding.

Advisor

Weber, Désirée

Department

Political Science

Keywords

Political Discourse, Hermeneutics

Publication Date

2025

Degree Granted

Bachelor of Arts

Document Type

Senior Independent Study Thesis

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