 Gadamer’s commitment to the historically conditioned character of understanding, coupled with the hermeneutic imperative that we engage with our historical situatedness, means that he takes philosophy to itself stand in a critical relation to the history of philosophy. Gadamer’s own thought certainly reflects a hermeneutical commitment to both philosophical dialogue and historical engagement. His public debates with contemporary figures such as Habermas and Derrida, although they have not always lived up to Gadamer’s own ideals of hermeneutic dialogue (at least not in respect of Derrida), have provided clear evidence of Gadamer’s own commitment to such engagement. The dialogue with philosophy and its history also makes up a large part of Gadamer’s published work and, while that dialogue has encompassed a range of thinkers, its primary focus has been on Plato, Aristotle, Hegel and Heidegger.