Hermeneutics by Richard Palmer

Hermeneutics by Richard Palmer

Hermeneutics introduces English-speaking readers to a field of increasing importance in contemporary philosophy and theology-hermeneutics, the theory of understanding, or interpretation. Hermeneutics is concerned with the character of understanding, especially as it is related to interpreting linguistic texts. It goes beyond mere philological methodology, however, to questions of the philosophy of language, the nature of historical understanding, and ultimately the roots of interpretation in existential understanding.

Palmer principally treats the conception of hermeneutics enunciated by Heidegger and developed into a philosophical hermeneutics by Hans-Georg Gadamer. He provides a brief overview of the field of hermeneutics by surveying some half-dozen alternate definitions of the term and by examining in detail the contributions of Friedrich Schleiermacher and Wilhelm Dilthey. In the Manifesto which concludes the book, Palmer suggests the potential significance of hermeneutics for literary interpretation.

When the context of interpretation is pressed to its limits, hermeneutics becomes the philosophical analysis of what is involved in every act of understanding. In this context, hermeneutics becomes relevant not simply to the humanistic disciplines, in which linguistic and historical understanding are crucial, but to scientific forms of interpretation as well, for it asserts the principles involved in any and every act of interpretation.

RICHARD E. PALMER is a professor emeritus of philosophy and religion at MacMurray College.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780810100275
ISBN 10	0810100274
Title	Hermeneutics
Author	Richard Palmer
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Northwestern University Press
Year published	1969-01-01
Number of pages	301
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable