Hermeneutics, what is it? Why is it that every time I stop to think about the word, the first thought is "for a word that is the study of interpretation, why is it so hard to spell"? Then, it hit me. If someone were to say that word to five people, it is very likely that there would be five different spellings, but not because it is a difficult word to spell, but because how we hear words and have different ways of spelling them. Think about it, off hand there is the instant breakdown of "Her-men-oo-tics", or "Her-man-u-ticks" among the several variations, and believe it or not, this actually has a point.
The first of the five Hermeneutics that will be discussed is Natural. What has been described above is a very over generalized and rough idea as to what is meant by Natural Hermeneutics. Put simply, it is how people interpret the world around them. Most of the time it seems simple, almost meaningless, until it is put into context. Think about any event that was experienced with other people and then try and see that same event from someone else who was there. Even better, think of how someone who is being told about that event could be interpreting it.
The second of these Hermeneutics is Normative. Doctors, lawyers, etc more known as people who understand a technical language and make it so "regular people" can understand it. Example: you go to your doctor and tell them of your symptoms. The doctor listens, thinks about it, may send you for more tests, but eventually, they come back to you with a diagnosis and treatment plan. Doctors are able to see technical language, interpret it, and relay it to people on an every day basis. Lawyers look at documentation constantly that would make the common man wonder if it were in gibberish, yet when the lawyer talks to man X about what it says, the lawyer can put it into words and sentences that make sense, and when they don't, there are other ways to put it even simpler. In other words, this form doesn't come naturally to people, it has to be worked on and kept on top of.
Scientific Hermeneutics are the basis and foundation for the scientific approach to the world. It is how we look at the world in order to create experiments that lead to answers to the "big questions". Ideas like String Theory, Game Theory, etc come from. Basically, there is a question, and in order to figure out an answer, steps are taken, procedure is followed, experiments are made and then conclusions are come to. If these experiments are repeated and the same results happen, then eventually these results become laws or solidified as accepted rules or facts.
In nearly the completely opposite direction is Philosophical Hermeneutics. These focus on the WHO we are versus WHAT we do. It dives into the idea that we are interpreters and that interpreting is not something we do. In an overly simplified statement "It is not what we do, it is who we are".
Which leads to the idea of Depth Hermeneutics. These are the questions and the interpretations of what is beyond the physical human world. Freud referred to it as the unconscious, others have called it existentialism, and there are more theories as to why we are, what or what else is there to life. This piece of Hermeneutics begs the ideas of souls, afterlives, etc.
This is a fascinating area of study, and there is so much more that can be discussed. This blog will continue to be updated as it feels necessary to look further into these ideas.
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