Hermeneutics

Origins

• Greek god Hermes • Messenger of Zeus (the supreme god in

Greek mythology) • Hermes interpreted Zeus’s wishes to

humankind. • Hermaneutics - Greek word for interpret

and understand.

Oldest form of textual analysis in existence. It began as a legal and theological methodology governing the application of civil law, canon law, and the interpretation of Scripture Jewish scholars used a style of hermeneutics as far back as 500B.C. Also used by Greek scholars like Plato and Aristotle.

Origins

• 1500 - Protestant reformation. • Invention of printing press • Bible translated to many languages. • some parts were difficult. • Way to interpret the Bible • Later applied to law and literature • 1800 - All humanities and natural

sciences.

The word hermeneutics comes to us from the name of the Greek god Hermes. Hermes was Zeus messenger, the one he would send down to the world of humans whenever he wanted to tell the ancient Greeks something. That is, Hermes would have to interpret Zeus wishes to the humankind. As you can imagine, this wasnt an easy task. First, Hermes would have to be sure that he understood what Zeus message was, which he would do by asking Zeus questions to make sure he understood. Then he would have to find just the right words to communicate the message to the Greeks, that is, he would have to interpret the message to them, so that there were no misunderstandings (if there were, Zeus could get pretty angry). So, coming from Hermes name, the original use of the word hermeneut was for someone who interpreted messages.  

But the word hermeneutics wasnt really used as the name for a way of interpreting until many centuries later, in the 1500s, when what is known as the Protestant Reformation took place. At that time, many people felt that the Church had too much control over what people were supposed to think about the Bible. This was because it was always written in Latin and only members of the clergy could read Latin. But during the Reformation (1500s), certain priests and scholars translated the Bible into the languages of the various European nations so that others could read it. And many people did because this was also the time of the invention of the printing press, an event that many people think is the second most important thing which ever happened in history. The only event more important is the development of reading and writing itself.  

Now that the Bible was available to everyone, arguments about what it said became common. So hermeneutics was developed as the way to interpret the Bible. It was not meant to settle all the arguments or to produce only one interpretation; rather, it was developed to prevent people from saying that the Bible said this or that based only upon personal whims or needs. In later epochs, because of the success of hermeneutics in interpreting the Bible, it began to be applied to the law and literature. Finally, in the 1800s this method of interpretation was broadened to include all of the humanities. Since then, hermeneutics has become, for many thinkers, the cornerstone of their disciplines, which include anthropology, psychology, the cognitive sciences, the arts, philosophy, and even the natural sciences.  

As it became more and more recognized that the natural way of thinking is interpretive, that is, making comparisons, hermeneutics has also come to be seen as a way of interpreting how we live our lives. Since we interpret all the time, people now understand that it just makes good sense to learn how to do it the best that we can. And it also makes good sense for us to study hermeneutics because of the large role it plays in our understanding of the arts.

Hermeneutics defined‘Interpretation, in the sense relevant to

hermeneutics, is an attempt to make clear, to make sense of an object of study. This object must, therefore, be a text, or a text-analogue, which in some way is confused, incomplete, cloudy, seemingly contradictory - in one way or another, unclear. The interpretation aims to bring to light an underlying coherence or sense’ (Taylor 1976: 153)

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What is Hermeneutics:?• The method of interpreting the meaning

of a text.

• Text - any form of communication.

• Interpretation • what is said • how it is said

History of Hermeneutics

1. The early church New Testament writers: interpreted life of church and of Christ with the Old Testament (1st type of interpretation-inspired) 1st century issue: How does the OT connect with the NT gospels?

School @ Alexandria 3 major ways to interpret Scripture Prophecy - the historical fulfillment of a text Allegory -Interprets stories as explaining a hidden eternal truth Typology - Something that points to something else in the future

2. Middle Ages and Monks Bible read through Monastic reflection: all about morality and asceticism; how to fight temptations any reading that increases your love for God is the right reading.

Dilthey Habermas Husserl Heidegger Hans-Georg Gadamer 3. Modern History of hermeneutics

• Dilthey • Habermas • Husserl • Heidegger • Hans-Georg Gadamer

Modern History of hermeneutics

Wilhelm Dilthey (1833-1911)

• “The Hermeneutic circle”

• Three structural levels of Spiritual sciences – Experience – Expression – comprehension.

Wilhelm Dilthey (1833-1911) Distinguished between Sciences of understanding (humanities and cultural sciences) Sciences of explanation (Natural sciences) Social sciences are deciding where to go.

Wilhelm Dilthey (1833-1911) “The Hermeneutic circle" - the recurring movement between the implicit and the explicit, the particular and the whole.

we have to constantly move back and forth between the words and the sentence. And this happens, whether we realize it or not, every time we read. We are always going back and forth in order to make the words mean something so that the sentence means something. This process can also be described as going back and forth between the particulars or parts (the words) and the whole (the sentence). And this going back and forth between the particulars and the whole is what we do whenever we try to understand anything, not just words and sentences. This then is what Gadamer means by the hermeneutical circle. It is the back and forth (dialectical) movement between the parts and the whole that leads to understanding.

Looking at paintings is another example of the hermeneutical circle. Although we can take in the entire picture at once, our real understanding of the picture doesnt begin until we also look at the details and then back to the whole.

Three structural levels of Spiritual sciences Experience Expression comprehension.

The hermeneutic circle• Understand parts to

understand the whole – Eg. Reading a

detective novel

• The interpretation is subjective but the validity rests on evidence taken from the text analysed

Knowledge interests • The technical-

instrumental-Natural sciences

• Hermeneutic – History, social anthropology, literary studies.

• Emancipatory (critical)-humanities and mainly social sciences

Jürgen Habermas , June 18, 1929

Jürgen Habermas , June 18, 1929

Knowledge interests The technical-instrumental-Natural sciences Hermeneutic – History, social anthropology, literary studies. Emancipatory (critical)-humanities and mainly social sciences Exposing power structure and enabling freedom

Edmund Husserl• How I see or conceptualize or understand the object I am dealing with defines the meaning of that object in my current experience.

(1859-1938)

• I see a tree across the square. • my experience is of a tree

whether or not such a tree exists.

• I see a Eucalyptus tree, not a Pine tree; with a certain shape, with bark stripping off, etc.

• Husserl calls this tree-as-perceived in my experience the noema or noematic sense of the experience.

Martin Heidegger

• when we enter a room, we turn the door knob, but this is such a basic and habitual action that it does not even enter our consciousness.

• Thus, it is only really when something goes wrong (e.g the door knob sticks) that we need to become rational, problem-solving beings. (1889—1976)

Hermeneutics of suspicion• The latent meaning

that a text conveys underneath its manifest plane. – Societal thinking – The dominant ideology

of feminity – The world view of the

dominant powers – The unconscious Paul Ricoeur (1913-2005)

French

Symptomatic reading Critical interpretation The text is a ‘symptom’ of some latent condition Establish a relationship with theories tools/keys to unlock the closed dimensions of texts. Interpretation in terms of Marxism or Psychoanalysis.

Hans-Georg Gadamer (1900 -2002)

• ‘Pre-understanding’-engage in a conversation with the text.

• Marginalia • Ask questions • Horizon of understanding • Horizon of expectation • Fusion of horizons. • Reception theory

Hans-Georg Gadamer (1900 -2002)

Wrote the book ‘Truth and Method’ (1960) How to understand texts from other historical periods.

https://www.svcc.edu/academics/classes/murray/hum210/hermwho2.htm ‘Pre-understanding’ by engaging in a dialogue with the text. ‘Asking question’ and ‘answering’. In other words, what we read causes reactions in us and those reactions are the very same reactions we have in live conversations. The only difference is that if someone you knew said that all college students are weenies, you would have an immediate opportunity to present your argument and try to change that persons mind. But in the case of the article, you would have to write a letter, which would take a little longer, but the result could potentially be the same. Finally, the point is, just as conversations with people prompt us to think new thoughts, we can also have conversations with paintings, music, sculpture, and so on.

And when good questions are asked, new knowledge can be produced. There is one other aspect of question which is also important for us. This is as a way of interacting with art. By asking artworks specific questions, we learn much more about the piece than if we just look, read, or listen. Asking a question of a work of art is also a way of making it respond to us instead of us always responding to it. The first question we should ask any work of art is What question brought this work into being? In other words, what question was the painter, composer, choreographer, etc., trying to answer by producing this piece? This may also be asked as What problem was the artist trying to solve when she produced this work? Although these questions are similar, they will produce at least slightly different answers.

we should not be afraid to interact with what we are reading- we should write our responses in the margins (there is even a word for what is written in the margin- marginalia) or underline the ideas which intrigue us or irritate us or confuse us.

Gadamer refers to our worlds as horizons. For example, someone who grew up in a very small town, didnt have access to TV or radio, wasnt encouraged to read, and went to work right out of high school is not going to have a very large horizon. That is, anytime this person runs into something that needs interpretation, he is going to have very little information and very few experiences to compare the new information or experience to.

Also, all of the new things we experience or learn help us to expand our horizons yet again, which then makes it easier to learn and experience even more new things.

The process of expanding our horizons is what Gadamer calls the fusion of horizons. Again, this is something which happens all the time. For example, you and a friend are having a conversation. She is telling you about a book she has just finished reading about the poet Rimbaud. You jump in and tell her that Rimbaud was the poet that Jim Morrison read all the time and modeled his song lyrics after. She continues to tell you about Rimbaud and you tell her about Jim Morrison. When the two of you are done talking, you both know more than when you started- that is, your horizons fused and ended up being expanded. There is another aspect of the fusion of horizons to be found in this example. But to understand this other aspect, we need to understand that books also have worlds. That is, as we read, we help to recreate the world that the author envisioned when she wrote the book. So your friend fused her horizon with the horizon of the book, just as you fused yours with the source of your information on Morrison (or whoever or whatever you may enjoy reading about).

Our reading is decided by our ‘horizon of expectations’ Pre - knowledge Academic Professional historical Political Economic Social Cultural Moral/ ethical value systems

Biblical Hermeneutics• The Literal Interpretation Principle • The Contextual Principle • Scripture Interprets Scripture Principle • The Progressive Revelation Principle • The Accommodation Principle • The One Interpretation Principle • The Harmony of Scripture Principle • The Genre Principle • The Grammatical Principle • The Historical Principle

Biblical hermeneutics is the science of interpreting texts in the Bible.

The Literal Interpretation Principle When we read the Bible, we should look for the obvious and plain meaning of the words we are reading.  Conversely we should reject any attempt at allegorizing scriptures.  When God speaks in an illustrative way, it is always obvious to the reader. 

The Contextual Principle

What this means is, never read a scripture in isolation.  Always read many verses before and after a given scripture to grasp the context.  Often I will choose to read the chapter before and after the scripture in question, as well.  When practicing good hermeneutics, we want to put all scriptures in their proper context.

Scripture Interprets Scripture Principle This principle of hermeneutics is simple.  Scripture can help interpret scripture.  God’s word is an integrated whole and does not contradict itself.  We also know that when God gives us an important doctrine, He is not going to only speak about it once.  God places His important teachings in several places and in several different ways in order to ensure our understanding.

The Progressive Revelation Principle

It’s the idea that God is progressively revealing truth as His Bible was being written.   It has been said that the Old Testament is the New Testament concealed and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed.  Some Old Testament teachings don’t become fully clear until the New Testament writings came along.  Doctrines and concepts that have become progressively clearer with time include; the atonement, heaven, hell, judgment, angels, demons and Satan etc.  As God reveals His words to mankind, He progressively builds upon our current understanding.

The Accommodation Principle The accommodation principle is the concept that God uses language that accommodates our human understanding of things.  This is not to say that God lies to us or gives us just so stories but there are times when God uses language in the Bible to describe something in terms that we should not take too literally.  For example, God speaks about Himself in ways that sometimes personify Him in a human way. 

The One Interpretation Principle Every scripture in the Bible has only one interpretation.  A scripture may have several applications and may even be a shadow or type of a future event, but it still only has one interpretation.   

The Harmony of Scripture Principle

Scripture needs to be in harmony with the rest of scripture. The entire Bible is given by inspiration of God and does not contain any errors.  When we find a scripture that has the appearance of contradicting another scripture in the Bible, we must stop and figure out why they appear to contradict and how to reconcile them.  Every verse must be in harmony with the rest of the Bible.

The Genre Principle The genre of a biblical text is important to know when practicing good hermeneutics.  There are 66 books of the Bible and several different literary genres that these books fit into.  The Bible contains poetry, history, prophetic writings, letters

Interpretation process involves: • Written texts • Verbal and nonverbal communication • How the personality of the author affects the

text. • Meaning emerging from interaction between text

and readers • prior aspects that affect communication

– presuppositions – preunderstandings – the meaning and philosophy of language – semiotics

Contemporary hermeneutics

The need for correct interpretation

Barriers:

•Time

•Culture

•Geography

•language

Any text, require that some basic rules be used in order to understand what was written. Barriers: Time Culture Geography language

Reasons for rules of hermeneutics1. Intended meaning of some words may not be obvious. 2. A figure of speech may distort the intended meaning. 3. Words in any language evolve and change meaning. 4. Cultural factors and circumstances may affect meaning. 5. The same word in different contexts may mean something different.

Rules of Interpretation

Author + Text + Reader = Meaning

Author + Text + Reader = Meaning The world(s) behind the text The world(s) of the text The world(s) in front of the text are all involved in the search for ‘meaning’

We are beginning to accept that it is legitimate to focus on any of these, as long as you know what you are doing and don’t mix things up; and that there is room for all in proper academic work.

So this is where we are in Biblical Studies, where the role of the Reader and the place of Hermeneutics is now recognised and accepted (even if some people don’t like it much).

First rule

Study all the applicable arguments before drawing your conclusions

Second Rule

The time, place, and circumstances of the text should be considered

Third rule

One should try to discover the principle involved in any specific argument, and its applications

What’s a principle?

A principle is an unerring, unchanging rule of human conduct or behaviour. The characteristics of a principle are: - Universal - Eternal

The characteristics of a principle are:

- Universal: a principle applies to all men and women in all places (the horizontal aspect).

- Eternal: a principle applies to all historical time periods and never changes (the vertical aspect)

Who is a good reader?• A hermeneutically-alert and self-

aware reader • A genre-competent reader • A reader who utilises

– The hermeneutic circle

– the hermeneutic of suspicion

– the hermeneutic of trust – The hermeneutics of self reflection

John Barton, Anglican and arguably Britain’s best OT scholar, points out that ‘genre-recognition’ is the beginning of all reading; and readers do it naturally (eg if I say ‘Once upon a time’ you know the genre/category of what is coming next and so how to handle it). It is a bit trickier with some Bible texts: eg the Creations put Gen 1 in the genre/category of scientific explanation, whereas Biblical scholars would label it ‘Myth’ or, better, ‘Theological Parable’. Jonah is another good example of people getting it wrong. Apocalyptic is another.

‘Hermeneutic of suspicion’ already done.

The ‘Hermeneutic of trust’, is a more recent expression and also needs to be used. It agrees with the ‘H of Suspicion’ that all texts have agendas, but to read with the ‘H of trust’ means that you accept, value and go with the agenda. You agree with what the text is selling. Here 2 Pet 1.21 is relevant, and Christians approach Scripture with the ‘H of T’ ‘because no prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the HS spoke from God’. Despite all the difficulties involved, Christians do regard the Bible as ‘inspired’ and that it has ‘authority’.

Much Christian argument over Scripture arises in the tension between the ‘H of S’ and the ‘H of T’; and again, Reader(s) are in the driving seat.

And among the competencies of being ‘hermeneutically-alert’ there is, of course, the famous ‘hermeneutical-circle’ (or spiral, as it really ought to be), with its pastoral version in the ‘Pastoral Cycle’ or its educational/theological variant in the ‘Action/Reflection’ model, or its contemporary incarnation in ‘Theological Reflection’, and so on.

Symptomatic reading• Symptomatic reading - Critical

interpretation

• Sympathetic reading - Positive or confirmative interpretation

• Objective reading - Closed (Objectifying) interpretation.

Symptomatic reading Symptomatic reading - Critical interpretation The text is a ‘symptom’ of some latent condition Establish a relationship with theories tools/keys to unlock the closed dimensions of texts. Interpretation in terms of Marxism or Psychoanalysis.

Sympathetic reading Positive or confirmative interpretation The interpreter places himself/herself in the position of the author and identifies the intended meaning. The interpreter distances from the text. ‘Auteurism’ in film studies The film as the creative output of the director.

Objective reading Closed (Objectifying) interpretation. Text as an independent entity. The text’s relations to its predecessors in its particular textual tradition Text’s internal relations or structures. Structuralist and semiotic approach.

The eclectic (selecting the best) analysis is the ideal.

The meaning of Media texts• Affected by pre- understanding of

cultural knowledge of – Signs

– Genres

– Media

– World

Genre • Genre is a ‘code’. • A way of understanding the world and our

existence within it.

Melodrama • 1800 - Parisian commercial theatre. • Started during Renaissance • Greek - Melo- accompanied by music/

dance • ‘An emotionally engaging tragedy with a

happy end’ – Rune Waldecranz (Swedish historian of theatre and films)

• ‘A way in which to understand the world’ – Peter Brooks.

A theatrical genre in 1800 in Parisian commercial theatre. Renaissance brought in a new worldview and a lot of unanswered questions, insecurity and uncertainty. Greek - Melo- accompanied by music/dance Pixérécourt gave the name. ‘An emotionally engaging tragedy with a happy end’ – Rune Waldecranz (Swedish historian of theatre and films) ‘A way in which to understand the world’ – Peter Brooks.

• A simplified version of good vs evil.

• Faded in the 2nd half of 19th century.

• Realist and naturalist drama.

• Vulgar and ‘feminine’ by upper classes.

• Soap operas, action films, film noir are modern day melodramas.

Melodrama

Melodrama presented a simplified version of good vs evil. Faded in the 2nd half of 19th century. Realist and naturalist drama. Considered vulgar and ‘feminine’ by upper classes. Soap operas, action films, film noir are modern day melodramas.

Common features of melodrama• Based on bourgeois, puritan understanding of morality.

• Struggle between innocence and virtue vs immorality and evil.

• Strong emotions.

• The contrast reflected in – Stage decor

– Lighting

– Music

– Exaggerated style of acting.

• One dramatic scene with thunder and lighting, flooding etc.

• Often in the climax dramatic battle with the evil villian.

Melodrama in journalism

• Conflict • Emotional appeal

Hermeneutic analysis of a newspaper article

• Who wrote it? • Who are the main actors? • Who are the people  mentioned in the article? • Who is the article addressed to? • What are the main events described? • What are the major ideas? • What is the ideology prevalent in the text? • What determined the choice of  these particular

events in the article? • When was it written? • When did the events take place? • When were they represented?

Hermeneutic analysis of a newspaper article

• Why was this written? (or rather: who pays for the information to be displayed in this particular way?)

• How is the article written? (what is the tone and attitude of the author? what feelings/images are projected?)

• How is it illustrated? (what political metaphors? what allusions? etc)

• And finally:What are your thoughts about the theme discussed in the article?

• How does it relate to your own experience and knowledge?

Pulitzer John Filo, 1971, newsweek

A handout photo taken by New York Times photographer Damon Winter of Barack Obama in the rain during his campaign won a Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography , 2009

Alan Diaz of Associated Press for his photograph of armed U.S. federal agents seizing the Cuban boy Elián Gonzalez from his

relatives' Miami home. 2001.

The Shot Diaz’ photo was not a spur of the moment shot.  He had spent months getting to know the Cuban boy’s family and familiarizing himself with the house and surroundings. Diaz had been hired by the Associated Press in November of 1999 to take daily pictures of Elian.  Elian was in the spotlight since his discovery after attempting to flee Cuba across the Florida Straits. The boat carrying Elian and his mother, and 13 other Cubans,  sank and his mother died.  In the beginning the family was leery of the photographer.  Diaz gained the trust of Elian’s great uncle, Lazaro, speaking with him across their backyard fence about politics, sports and women.  The determined photographer spent 16 hours a day covering Elian’s situation for the Associated Press.  He took photos of the boy going to school and playing in the yard and of the demonstrations that occasionally went on outside their home.  By April tensions were running high around the Elian home.  The Clinton Administration was demanding that Elian be turned over to authorities who would reunite the boy with his dad in Cuba.  His Miami relatives disagreed and refused to turn him over. Diaz decided he wouldn’t leave the home until there was resolution to this issue.  On the morning of April 22

nd he jumped the fence into the side yard of the family home, paused to set his shutter speed and lighting and ran through a door that a family member had opened.  Yelling in Spanish, “Where’s the boy,” he ran through the house in search of the 6

year old.  Elian had been held in a closet by one of the family members when the federal agent pointed his assault weapon at the family, Diaz pointed his camera and the result was his Pulitzer Prize photograph. 

Pulitzer 2010 to Mary Chind of The Des Moines Register for her photograph of the heart-stopping moment when a rescuer dangling in a makeshift

harness tries to save a woman trapped in the foaming water beneath a dam.

The earthquake’s emotional toll is etched on the faces of Haitians attending a worship service at Cathedral Notre Dame.

Pulitzer 2011, Carol Guzy, The Washington Post - January 24, 2010,

Tarana Akbari, 12, screams in fear moments after a suicide bomber detonated a bomb in a crowd at the Abul Fazel Shrine

in Kabul on December 06, 2011.

‘A woman needs a man like a _______needs a ________.

‘A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.

Irina Dunn