Richard E. Palmer

Emeritus Professor of Philosophy and Religion
Hermeneutics Scholar in Residence
MacMurray College
Jacksonville, Illinois

Richard Palmer has lectured on and written about hermeneutics (theory of understanding and interpretation) for more than three decades. His introduction to the subject, written in 1969, has become a standard text and is translated into at least six languages.  

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His four years of postdoctoral study in Heidelberg, Germany, with Hans-Georg Gadamer, scattered over four decades, from 1965 to 1996 and including two Fulbright Grants in the nineties, have been the foundation for dozens of articles and translations gathered together here. A high-point in his career was participating in a seminar with Martin Heidegger in 1965 followed by a three-hour dinner conversing with him about his works and life after the war. In 1999 Palmer retired to devote himself to translating and writing about the works and hermeneutical philosophy of Hans-Georg Gadamer.

This webpage makes available for the first time,

  1. a list of the books, articles, and translations of Richard Palmer, both published and forthcoming,
  2. biographical information,
  3. personal photos of Gadamer with some of his leading interpreters,
  4. links,
  5. a thematic collection of Palmer's articles on the theme of The Scope of Hermeneutics
  6. a thematic collection of his articles on the theme of Hermeneutics and Postmodernity,
  7. a table of contents for a six-volume anthology of essays, a hermeneutics compendium, and
  8. the full text of the following four articles by Richard Palmer:
bullet"On the Liminality of Hermes and the Meaning of Hermeneutics"
bullet"The Relevance of Gadamer's Philosophical Hermeneutics to 36 Topics or Fields of Human Activity" (1999 unpublished lecture)
bullet"The Turn Towards Postmodern Thinking" (Postmodern Conference for MacMurray College Faculty, May 2001) 
bullet"How Hans-Georg Gadamer offers openings to a postmodern perspective" (Postmodern Conference for MacMurray College Faculty, May 2001)          

  Contact information:

Title and mailing address:

Philosopher in Residence
MacMurray College
447 East College Avenue
Jacksonville, IL 62650-2510

Office Location:

Norris Academic Building, Room 402
446 East State Street

MacMurray College
Jacksonville, IL 62650

Phone: 217-479-7103  Fax: 217-479-7078
E-mail: richard.palmer@mac.edu

Other Pages in this Website:

Books

Articles

Translations

List of Book Reviews 

Scholarships and Awards

Biographical data

Hermeneutics Compendium

On the Scope of Hermeneutics

On Hermeneutics and Postmodernity

On the Liminality of Hermes

Guest Professor Syllabi  

Links to other Websites   

Gadamer Bibliography: How to find writings on/about Gadamer Gadamer photos
Retirement dinner photos   Personal photos

Last updated July 25, 2005