Description: Transforming knowledge with hermeneutical or ideologue critical attitude - Reviving the Gadamer-Habermas debate in the context of adult educationAt least in Finnish context one can conceive two orientations in the adult education: orientation toward Bildung (culture) and orientation toward ideologue critique. This division corresponds loosely the demarcation line in so called Gadamer-Habermas debate which started at 1960th. In the year 1960 Hans-Georg Gadamer published opus magnum called Warheit und Methode. In that book Gadaamer fouded philosophical hermeneutic and established a universal claim of hermeneutics. Gadamer proposes a dialogical attitude toward tradition (science, art, religion, habits, all cultural knowledge) in which we open to what tradition will hand to us. In that way we receive the meaning that tradition have to offer and we participate the effective historical continuation by receiving and handing it. This orientation is called hermeneutical consciousness or universal claim of hermeneutics. The representative of the Frankfurt School and critical theory Jürgen Habermas otherwise supports Gadamer hermeneutics but does not fully agree all commitments that is included in universal claim of hermeneutics. Habermas claims that all in tradition is not good and worth of handing to the next generation. Tradition is not just crystallized dialogue. Tradition also consists of power and ideologue. That is why ideologue critique is needed when we are studying tradition and transforming knowledge that tradition consist of. Kantian idea of enlightenment and personal autonomy requires reflective consciousness toward tradition. Enlightened attitude toward tradition does not respect authorities and prejudices. Gadamer wants to rehabilitate the concepts of authority and prejudice. Authority in tradition is intellectual authority, not authoritarian authority. And prejudices are our pre-understanding of tradition, which is needed if we want to understand anything in tradition. Habermas does not want to exclude enlightenment from hermeneutics. Habermas proposes attitude of critical hermeneutics which recognize the value of tradition but in same time performs critical reflection toward tradition. Gadamer's counterargument is that critique of ideologue itself is a form of tradition. There is no way that we could escape from tradition and prejudices. Gadamerian and Habermasian attitudes have practical implications in all education and in adult education especially. In Finland adult education is traditionally conceived as Bildung a.k.a. hermeneutical orientation toward our own national heritage. Critical or transformative orientation proposes critical reflection and critical self-reflection where person critically considers ideas and attitude that she or he had previously learned. In theoretical level there is no solution to the Gadamer-Habermas debate but these two orientations in adult education are not necessarily in contradiction. Methodology: philosophical hermeneutics; ideology critique Conclusions: No solution to the Gadamer-Habermas debate in theoretical level but in praxis there might be.