hermeutyka

HERMENEUTICS HANDOUT

APPROACHES TO INTERPRETATION

Exegesis vs Hermeneutics

Exegesis (Gr. To lead out): The analysis or interpretation of a portion of a text, usually a passage or a key phrase

Hermeneutics (Gr. To translate, to interpret): the theoretical examination of the understanding and interpretation of texts

Hermeneutics (Gr. To translate, to interpret): the theoretical examination of the understanding and interpretation of texts

Is understanding and interpretation and cognition even possible? yes – we should strive at a generalized truth, no – each interpretation speaks only about ourselves

Possible approaches: Essentionalist = looking for one true meaning with exegetical tools

Pragmatic = each interpretation calls for the redefinition of reading Mixed (Gadamer) = interpretation depends on the interpreter

THE BEGINNINGS

Friedrich Schleiermacher, Friedrich Nietzsche, Wilhelm Dilthey

Dilthey, Hermeneutics and the Study of History; 1900,

Verstehen (Ger. To understand) = an attempt of the interpreter to identify with the author of a text, to look at the text from the author’s point of view

Defining understanding in relation to the human sciences It is distinct from „explaining”, used in natural sciences Requires empathy It is enabled by the signs issued by others

Aimed at understanding the author through the signs they left in their works

1927: MARTIN HEIDEGGER, BEING AND TIME

Sein vs Seiende = Being and beings

Sein vs Seiende = Being and beings

pure being” = the essence of being, irreducible to known categories Characteristics of Being: unique, indefinable, uncanny, obscure, self-evident

Dasein=being-there

Type of being specific to humans conscious of its mortality („being-towards-death”) and identity Existing in relation to others

Immersed in temporality and historicity („being-in-the-world”)

Looking for authentic existence

Temporality Being is confined and unravelled by the temporality of the world Time is a necessary dimension for the shaping of identity

Present reactions, determined by past experiences, traditions and heritage, shape the future of the being Being must be considered in relation to all three aspects of time

Care is a fundamental dimension of the relation between Dasein and the world Thrownness=self finds itself in an already existing context

Projection=the actions self can undertake in the given context Fallenness=self is defined by the given context

„Dwelling” in the world Creating one’s own space, familiar context Being accommodates itself to the given context, and in turn exerts an impact upon the context with its own individual identity

Language as a house of Being

Language is the precinct, that is, the house of Being. The nature of language does not exhaust itself in signifying, nor is it merely something that has the character of sign or cipher.

It is because language is the house of Being, that we reach what is by constantly going through this house.

When we go to the well, when we go through the woods, we are always already going through the word 'well,' through the word 'woods,' even if we do not speak the words and do not think of anything related to language

Poets especially are shepherds of Being: they turn their „care” and attention towards Being, are responsible for guarding it

Poetry gives access to pure being, is a guide to authentic existence It represents the wholeness of the world; the images become symbols of the world and of the pure Being

Commentator vs interpreter We should not impose our mental framework on the subject of interpretation

Presuppositions are inherent in our reception of the world, they cloud the vision of the „real thing” Hermeneutic circle = interpretation organized in circular progression, understanding the whole by understanding parts

1960: HANS-GEORG GADAMER, TRUTH AND METHOD

Understanding is mediated by individual presuppositions; they are a necessary prerequisite „truth” and „method”

There is no one universal method of interpretation, allowing to arrive at the „truth” Each interpretation has to be made for each particular case The meaning depends on the context, rather than authorial intentions

historically-effected” consciousness = being shaped by history and culture For personal growth, it is crucial to be confronted with other perspectives and worldviews

The work of art that says something confronts us itself. That is, it expresses something in such a way that what is said is like a discovery, a disclosure of something previously concealed.

The element of surprise is based on this. "So true, so filled with being" [So war, so seined] is not something one knows any other way. Everything familiar is eclipsed. To understand what the work of art says to us is therefore a self-encounter.

DIALOGUE The importance of familiarizing the unknown, bridging the gap between beings Reaching out to other beings to form a bond

It’s the basis for coexistence Involves the exchange of speech acts (e.g., question/answer) The real reader is a patient listener

HORIZONS Horizon: a particular perspective, grounded in history and culture of the given period; it is always limited (presuppositions) Fusion of horizons: coming together of two perspectives

Expanding the horizons, e.g.: Through the encounter with other cultures Through Art Through conversation Through learning Through travelling

The change and expansion of the horizons of individual understanding, enables one to interpret oneself more fully (through new elements/ levels of the hermeneutic circle)

1969: PAUL RICOEUR, THE CONFLICT OF INTERPRETATIONS

IDENTITY Idem vs ipse: what and who we are (physicality vs non-physicality) Animal rationale vs homo narrans

Without narration it is impossible to establish one’s identity biography: first-person narration, internal focalizer, story of one’s life, autobiographical elements

Tradition = a spiritual link between the past and the present, essential for self-understanding

Telling stories helps to organize the temporal experience of the self, it brings us to agreement and gives meaning to the varying dimensions of human experience

Usually these stories emphasize subjective time and subjectively important events

NARRATIVE IDENTITY Constructed through the narration (story) of one’s life, with respect to: Temporality: chronology; subjective time; profound role of memory subjects important for the narrator, recurring ideas

Redemption: through sacrifice, recovery, growth, learning (becoming better) Contamination: victimization, betrayal, loss, failure, illness/injury, disappointment, or disillusionment

Agency: how far is the narrator self-governed, independent; who/what influences them relations with others and the world; how far the communion is achieved

Man is this plural and collective unity in which the unity of destination and the differences of destinies are to be understood through each other. (Fallible Man) self-exploration

subjective importance of events as far as they relate to the narrator; the lessons the narrator draws from the story

TIME AND HISTORY Time is the motivating force of the self (with regard to past experiences and future expectations) Three kinds of time:

Cosmic time: a sequence of events; objective Lived time: acquires meaning through the relation with the self; subjective Historical time: a structured connection between the cosmic and the lived times

THE CONFLICT OF INTERPRETATIONS

Meaning is not given directly, but through symbols, testifying to Logos Symbols (texts) should be explained with techniques of exegesis (objective analysis with structuralist tools)

there is always a surplus of meaning, which cannot be explained through exegesis Interpretation=finding in the text a world I could dwell in; necessarily subjective The conflict arises because of subjectivity of interpretations

While interpreting, we have to take into account other interpretations and engage in a dialogue with other interpreters

the meaning of acts of discourse is always open to new interpretations we can find criteria, such as comprehensiveness, for determining which interpretation is more likely

the meaning of acts of discourse is always open to new interpretations we can find criteria, such as comprehensiveness, for determining which interpretation is more likely

SUMMARY: HERMENEUTIC FOCUS

Speech acts in the text (e.g., a command, a plead, a declaration) the words of the characters or the book as a whole

Dialogue, language, communication: on what level does it take place? With the help of what language/signs? Is there any obstruction? Is it direct or indirect?

intention the words carry or what impact they desire to make the relationship between the narrator and the audience The effect the text has on you: what emotions it arouses, what action it initiates

Being and self Self-reflection, self-definition, e.g., monologues, diaries, letters Identity shaping, e.g., through the dialogue with the Other, through naming, through context, through construction/Art

The relation to the world, to others, to God The relation to the ultimate matters, like death The question of authenticity Narrative identity