The ideas of German philosopher Hans-Georg Gadamer have had considerable influence both in their own right, as the leading modern exposition of philosophical hermeneutics, and in interpreting the works of others, especially Heidegger, Hegel, and Plato. Jean Grondin provides an authoritative and clear presentation of Gadamer's thought. Centering his interpretation around the seminal Truth and Method, he lays out Gadamer's key themes of method, humanism, aesthetic judgement, truth, and the work of history.

Grondin situates Gadamer's concerns in the context of traditional philosophical issues, showing, for example, how Gadamer both continues and significantly modifies Descartes' approach to the philosophical problem of method and advances rather than simply follows Heidegger's treatment of the relationship of thinking to language. In doing this Grondin shows that the issues of philosophical hermeneutics are relevant to contemporary concerns in science and history.