Forholdet mellom forståelse og kvantifisering

This paper analyses the relationship between background knowledge and interpretation of quantitative data in connection with data collected from among the oldest of the old. Background knowledge includes an understanding of the respondents' use and understanding of language as a context for interpreting statements. Interview is use of language. The researcher is faced with an interpretative respondent who, in collaboration with the researcher, interprets the situation and the questionnaires from his/her own understanding of language, experiences, and also based on his/her own cultural background and background knowledge. This set of problems is attached to ontological hermeneutics, represented by Gadamer. He discusses the meaning of language, historicism, interpretation and pre-understanding as a prerequisite for understanding. Gadamer's concept, “the fusion of horizons”, explains the process, in which past and present are united, thus leading to understanding. The respondents in the present study evaluated the topics of conversation from a life-span perspective. Their responses reflected more comprehensive perspectives on life than those represented by their present situation and experiences. Gadamer's emphasis on the importance of language and history for understanding is put into concrete terms in this study.