The Principle of Charity Understanding between generations as a hermeneutic problem

Abstract

The cultural science study approaches the relationship system of generations with a hermeneutic approach, starting from the views of two defining thinkers of the 20th century generation discourse. It interprets generations as cultural experiences and, in doing so, presents three basic types of relationships between generations. Building on Margaret Mead’s cultural anthropological research, it distinguishes between post-, co- and prefigurative generational relationships. The study focuses on the examination of contemporary generational conflicts, examining the prefigurative relationship in the most detail, during which Byung-Chul Han’s hyperculture theory places the concept in a cultural context and examines the main characteristics of Generation Z and the circumstances that led to the formation of seemingly insurmountable gaps between generations. With a cultural science analysis of hyperculture and Generation Z, it attempts to find common ground and experiences that can be sources of mutual understanding.