hermeneutic
Art of interpretation
Hermeneutic relates to interpretation, especially of texts.
The term comes from biblical and literary scholarship, where hermeneutics is the theory and method of interpretation: a hermeneutic approach to Scripture, hermeneutic analysis of the poem.
In philosophy, it extends to understanding human experience and meaning more broadly.
The plural hermeneutics names the field itself.
Relating to characteristics, not quantities
- interpretiveExplaining meaning or significance
- frameworkUnderlying support system
- analysisMethodical study of parts
- ethnographySystematic study of peoples
phenomenological · case study · reflexivity · thick description · coding · bracketing · validity · rigor
Systematic explanatory presentation
- construalAct of interpreting meaning
- readingInterpreting written text
- sensemakingConstructing meaning from information
- decodingExtracting meaning from symbols
elucidation · explication · unpacking · contextualization · commentary · gloss · annotation · paraphrase
Study of subjective experience
- GadamerHermeneutics philosopher, twentieth-century German
- HeideggerExistential ontology's founder
- SchleiermacherProtestant theology reformer
- ontologyStudy of existence's nature
epistemology · existentialism · historicity · prejudice · horizon · being · temporality · circle
Criticism emphasizing audience interpretation
- intertextualityConnections between written works
- close readingDetailed textual analysis
- deconstructionAnalysis exposing self-contradiction
- structuralismAnalysis through underlying systems
post-structuralism · text · discourse · trope · symbol · metaphor · meaning · ambiguity
Sacred religious writings
- manuscriptOriginal text before publication
- codexAncient bound manuscript
- canonAccepted authoritative works
- palimpsestReused writing surface, traces remain
redaction · transcription · annotation · glossary · marginalia · footnote · critical edition · philology
Of sacred texts
- scripturalOf sacred writings
- exegeteCritical text interpreter
- homileticsScience of sermon-making
- typologyClassification by shared traits
allegory · patristic · Reformation · literal sense · demythologization · revelation
Philosophy governing legal systems
- originalismInterpreting by founding-era meaning
- textualismInterpreting law literally
- legislative intentLawmakers' goal in enacting
- precedentPrior authoritative example
qualitative
Relating to characteristics, not quantities
- interpretiveExplaining meaning or significance
- frameworkUnderlying support system
- analysisMethodical study of parts
ethnography · phenomenological · case study · reflexivity · thick description · coding · bracketing · validity · rigor · naturalistic
exposition
Systematic explanatory presentation
- construalAct of interpreting meaning
- readingInterpreting written text
- sensemakingConstructing meaning from information
decoding · elucidation · explication · unpacking · contextualization · commentary · gloss · annotation · paraphrase · clarification
phenomenology
Study of subjective experience
- GadamerHermeneutics philosopher, twentieth-century German
- HeideggerExistential ontology's founder
- SchleiermacherProtestant theology reformer
ontology · epistemology · existentialism · historicity · prejudice · horizon · being · temporality · circle
reader-response
Criticism emphasizing audience interpretation
- intertextualityConnections between written works
- close readingDetailed textual analysis
- deconstructionAnalysis exposing self-contradiction
structuralism · post-structuralism · text · discourse · trope · symbol · metaphor · meaning · ambiguity · polysemy
scripture
Sacred religious writings
- manuscriptOriginal text before publication
- codexAncient bound manuscript
- canonAccepted authoritative works
palimpsest · redaction · transcription · annotation · glossary · marginalia · footnote · critical edition · philology · translation
biblical
Of sacred texts
- scripturalOf sacred writings
- exegeteCritical text interpreter
- homileticsScience of sermon-making
typology · allegory · patristic · Reformation · literal sense · demythologization · revelation
jurisprudence
Philosophy governing legal systems
- originalismInterpreting by founding-era meaning
- textualismInterpreting law literally
- legislative intentLawmakers' goal in enacting
- literary theorystructuralism, deconstruction, formalism, post-structuralism, poetics
hermeneuticliteral
Meaning exactly what's said
face-value · uninterpreted · transparent · self-evident · obvious
hermeneuticpositivist
One trusting only observable facts
empirical · quantitative · scientific · empiricist · mechanistic
hermeneuticdecontextualized
Severed from original setting
ahistorical · formalist · structuralist · textualist · originalist
- hermeneutic circleUnderstanding through recursive interpretation