Some thoughts on Hermeneutics:

Implications for an Anthropological Discussion

 

Hermeneutics is a particular approach used in the study and interpretation of texts.  It seeks to understand what an author of a particular text is attempting to convey to others.  The term refers to the act of interpreting.  As a methodology of interpretation, hermeneutics has had a long history in biblical studies and has become a vital tool in contemporary philosophical and literary discourse, as well as in anthropological endeavors.  The word itself derives from the Greek god, Hermes. The son of Zeus and the nymph Maia, Hermes is the herald of the Olympian gods.  Among his responsibilities, Hermes is the god of shepherds, land travel, merchants, oratory, literature, athletics and thieves, and is also known for his cunning and shrewdness.  Most importantly, he is the messenger of the gods.

"Texts" (be they written discourse, oral narratives, aesthetic objects, architectural buildings, etc.) are understood as "conventionalized expressions of the experiences of their authors."  Texts attempt to communicate and transmit the experiences, ideas, beliefs and values of the author and his or her community to intended audiences and their communities.  A text acts as a messenger, from someone to someone, just as Hermes acted as a messenger for the gods.  To begin to understand the meaning of the message you have to begin with the actual words of the text.  To hermeneutically interpret is to first dwell in the words of the text, as if, as an archaeologist, you are using your trowel and brush to bit-by-bit remove the earth encasing an ancient shard.  But as the meaning of the shard is never innate within the object alone, you must also consider what is associated with the shard.  Contextualize and date the shard, placing it in its cultural setting.  Likewise, you must contextualize the words of the text, as any message is always framed within cultural, historical, and intellectual contexts.  A hermeneutical interpretation of a text can thus reveal more clearly the meaning of the words of the text, as well as the cultural and intellectual contexts in which it was formed, providing a means to better understand and share the original experiences and ideas of the author of the text.

But as texts are also intended as messages for particular audiences of readers, what you as a reader bring to the interpretation of the text, i.e., your own cultural and intellectual context, must also be considered in the interpretative process.  Remember, a text acts as a messenger, from someone to someone.  Consider which tools and methods you’re using to unearth the shard.  Also consider the tools other communities of archaeologists might bring to the same interpretation of that shard.  A hermeneutical interpretation of a text can thus reveal something about what you bring to the text, i.e., your own cultural context, which can not be divorced from the meaning of that text.

Ultimately hermeneutical interpretation is the synthesis of the text and the extrapolated cultural and intellectual contexts of the author, on one hand, juxtaposed along side your own cultural and intellectual contexts, on the other hand; a dialectic process.  Only engaged, deliberate and continuous discussion, moving back and forth between the words of a text, reflecting on its contexts, as well as your own contexts, can begin to unearth the meanings intended by an author.

 

29 February 2004

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