Partners of Gadamer’s dialogue: Persons or/and things?

Gadamer, like Plato, considers “dialogue” as the basis of the knowledge; that is, we know things around us through the dialogue. It is clear that, dialogue needs, at least, two partners. In Plato, at least at first glance, it seems that the partners in dialogue are two persons. Is that so in Gadamer? To this question, there are two answers among Gadamer commentators. a) Most of them think that the dialogue between “persons” is the basis. We as persons must, in their view, come together and make conversation in order to come near to the knowledge of the world and the things around us. b) but, some others, as Figal see the things themselves as a partner in conversation alongside with persons. in Gadamer human being and the world both are of verbal nature. Things also have the verbal nature and have something to say. Understanding and knowledge take place in the verbal conversation between human being and the world as the partner; that is, as I and Thou. this paper tries to show that, in Gadamer's philosophical hermeneutics, “conversation between human being and the world” and “conversation between persons” both are the basis of understanding and knowledge.