Gadamer's Hermeneutics as Practical Philosophy 611 Every situation is characterized by a certain horizon. Husserl used to play with thisnotion in the final phase of his work, but always meant it as something that restricts ourview on the environment.tarting from Heideggers definition of being astime, and understanding as the mode of being or Dasein, Gadamer comes to an insightthat the historical character of every understanding is a principle of hermeneutics.