Day 35-36: Hermeneutics
Source: Hermeneutics. (2007, April 29). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
Retrieved 18:57, May 10, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hermeneutics&oldid=126832920
Hermeneutics
Hermeneutics may be described as the development and study of theories of the interpretation and understanding of texts. In contemporary usage in religious studies, hermeneutics often refers to study of the interpretation of Biblical texts. It is more broadly used in contemporary philosophy to denote the study of theories and methods of the interpretation of all texts and systems of meaning. The concept of "text" is here extended beyond written documents to any number of objects subject to interpretation, such as experiences. A hermeneutic is defined as a specific system or method for interpretation, or a specific theory of interpretation. However, the contemporary philosopher Hans-Georg Gadamer has said that hermeneutics is an approach rather than a method and, further, that the Hermeneutic circle is the central problem of interpretation.
Essentially, hermeneutics involves cultivating the ability to understand things from somebody else's point of view, and to appreciate the cultural and social forces that may have influenced their outlook. Hermeneutics is the process of applying this understanding to interpreting the meaning of written texts and symbolic artifacts (such as art or sculpture or architecture), which may be either historic or contemporary.
In the last two centuries, the scope of hermeneutics has expanded to include the investigation and interpretation not only of textual and artistic works, but of human behaviour generally, including language and patterns of speech, social institutions, and ritual behaviours (such as religious ceremonies, political rallies, football matches, rock concerts, etc.). Hermeneutics interprets or inquires into the meaning and import of these phenomena, through understanding the point of view and 'inner life' (Dilthey) of an insider, or the first-person perspective of an engaged participant in these phenomena.
1 comment:
hermeneutics from the textbooks I have na: (Patton, 2001)
It is an "approach" that remind us that what something means depends on the cultural context in which it was originally created as well as the cultural context within which it is subsequently interpreted.
In modern usage, hermeneutics offers a "perspective" for interpreting legends, stories, and other texts esp. bible and legal texts.
-to find out what the author wants to communicate,
-to understand intended meaning, and
-to place documents in a historical and cultural context (Palmer, 1969)
hermeneutics challenges the assertion that an interpretation ca ever be absolutely correct or true. (now you have to write a lot about your philosophical stand point!)
To me, I think you can write in your method chapter or conceptual framework (depends on how you are going to organize your chapters) that you draw from hermeneutic perspectives...write about your world view on interpretivism and make explicit where you stand about how you would draw validation or trustworthiness of your study (not that difficult ka cuz a lot of people have done this for decades now)
But hermeneutics is not a method that you will write in the "research design" section because if you're doing hermeneutics...that means you are analyzing how the authors of the books you have interpret things that way. What are the conditions under which a book was produced to interpret its meaning?
Correct me if I'm wrong, your main objective is to identify MFN themes in the lit? It is in a descriptive level right? It's answering a WHAT not HOW (explanatory level)?
Which is good enough. So you can say that you use content analysis in the research design section. And you will finish it before the end of the year : )
Post a Comment