Traces of sedimentation in Gadamer
Continental Philosophy Review February 14, 2026 Jean Grondin
Gadamer, though rarely discussed in connection with sedimentation, is a key thinker on the topic within the phenomenological tradition. Sedimentation refers to what is deposited in consciousness, shaping it without full awareness. In Gadamer's work, this appears as the immemorial in consciousness, especially through the subterranean work of history in effective history (Wirkungsgeschichte). This yields a consciousness more affected by history than aware of its own sedimentations—more 'Being than consciousness.' Prejudices, traditions, and inherited language determine us more than conscious judgments, revealing that dialogue and language are always more inherited than created.