The main work "Truth and Method" is published in 2010, exactly 50 years after its first edition, in a revised and corrected form as an affordable study edition. It is considered one of the few globally recognized standard works of post-war German philosophy. The significant resonance may be surprising for various reasons, not least because a large new theory with its own conceptual tools is only hinted at here; rather, the author cautiously circles around ancient themes of philosophical access to the world. Above all, it addresses the question: What actually happens when we understand? He places the historical dimension of understanding at the center, also through his famous rehabilitation of "prejudice." The systematic excursions are complemented by a history of ideas of hermeneutics, which virtuously engages with such a diverse range of stimuli.