Overview
Hermeneutics is the art and science of reading. It asks: “How do we understand a text written thousands of years ago in a different culture?”
Core Idea
The core idea is Context. You cannot understand a text without understanding the world it came from and the world you are reading it in.
Formal Definition
The theory and methodology of interpretation.
- Exegesis: Drawing meaning out of the text (Good).
- Eisegesis: Reading meaning into the text (Bad).
Intuition
- The Lens: We all wear glasses colored by our culture, gender, and time period. Hermeneutics is studying the glasses so we can see the text clearly.
- The Hermeneutic Circle: To understand the whole, you need the parts. To understand the parts, you need the whole. You go round and round.
Examples
- Literal vs. Metaphorical: When the Bible says “God’s arm,” is it a physical arm or a metaphor for power? Hermeneutics decides.
- Constitutional Law: Originalism vs. Living Constitution. This is legal hermeneutics.
Common Misconceptions
- Misconception: The text just “says what it says.”
- Correction: Every reading is an interpretation. “I take it literally” is an interpretive choice.
- Misconception: It makes truth relative.
- Correction: It acknowledges complexity, but usually aims for the best interpretation, not just any interpretation.
Related Concepts
- Epistemology: How do we know what the text means?
- Postmodernism: Heavily focused on hermeneutics (Death of the Author).
Applications
- Law: Interpreting statutes.
- History: Interpreting primary sources.
- Theology: Preaching and doctrine.
Criticism and Limitations
- Subjectivity: Can we ever truly know the author’s intent? (The Intentional Fallacy).
Further Reading
- Truth and Method by Hans-Georg Gadamer
- How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth by Fee and Stuart