Abstract

The paper looks at a number of problems connected with the ethical dimension of hermeneutical practices. It opens with a discussion of the opposition between the traditional approach to translationTranslationethicsEthics which posits a ‘code of ethicsEthics’ for translators, and the approach put forward in a number of studies which envisage the translationTranslation phenomenon in its entirety. The author suggests that, whereas the former approach is narrowly deontological, the latter marks a turn towards virtue ethicsVirtue ethics, opening a new perspective on the problem of translationTranslationethicsEthics. This turn implies a view of translationTranslation as a formative process which affects the recipient community’s attitude to their own language and culture. The most fundamental virtue inherent in translationTranslation is identified as respect for the Other in their irreducible alterity. It is also argued that the idea of virtue ethicsVirtue ethics is applicable to other hermeneutical situations. This highlights the importance of the formative aspect of hermeneutical experienceExperience. With ethicsEthics of difference and diversity as one of its guiding principles, hermeneutical experienceExperience may be expected to promote tolerance and respect for the Other.