Philosophical Hermeneutics
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• “clarify the conditions in which understanding takes place”*
• Presuppositions precede all understanding
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Worldview or how the world operates – what is real?
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Prior knowledge of the subject/text
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Mental categories
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Methods and interpretative strategies
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Historical contingencies
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Many of the above function on subconscious level
 All understanding is “situated”, perspectival, and conditional

Philosophical Hermeneutics
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Church tradition/denomination
• Education, life experiences
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Prior knowledge of the subject/text
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Gender, age; socio-economic status
• Culture, race, ethnicity
 Framework within which interpretative judgments are made
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Inductive and deductive reasoning
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Back and forth movement – parts & whole

Philosophical Hermeneutics
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Understanding of whole (e.g. genre and how it influences meaning)
• “Once upon a time…” vs.
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Reading a newspaper
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How meaning is constructed
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Understanding of the parts & whole
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How/where to start
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Meaning of individual words
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Our understanding of the Bible (or Paul the apostle)
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Each is conditioned by the other – not independent
• “preliminary” understanding and fuller understanding
• Fuller understanding “speaks back” to preliminary understanding to reshape it
• Historical conditionality of the interpreter (reading communities)
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It is impossible to jump out of the hermeneutical circle/spiral

Philosophical Hermeneutics
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Acknowledge your situatedness & hermeneutical circle
• “Without preunderstanding, understanding is impossible”*
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Acknowledging presupposition – potential to examine and change
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Examine and evaluate your presunderstanding & presuppositions
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Good and bad presuppositions
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Believing vs. non-believing attitude
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Particular theory of inspiration or fixed theological agenda
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Presupposition is not the same as prejudice
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Approach a text without presupposing the result BUT
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Everybody has prior questions and some idea what the text means

Philosophical Hermeneutics
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Presuppositions are not fixed
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Be open to change
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Allow biblical text and Spirit to change
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Be open to the voice of the Word and Spirit
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
24 And see if there be any hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way. (Ps 139:23-24)

Philosophical Hermeneutics
Text
World of author
• Author’s worldview, presupposition, values, culture
World of reader
• Worldview, presuppositions, values, culture

Philosophical Hermeneutics
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Sense – mental response/image
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Reference – object in the real world [extra-linguistic object]
Apple

Philosophical Hermeneutics
• “You are the Christ” (Mk 8:29)
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Sense = Christ (Messiah with various Jewish expectations)
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Referent = Christ
 the person of Jesus (as known from the context)

Philosophical Hermeneutics
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The meaning of X is the significance of X for Y
• Importance, relevance, consequences
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Meaning of an event that is not important is dismissed
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Meaning is identified with the reference
• Meaning of “Christ was born in Bethlehem” – place of birth
• Works well with proper names, places, declarative sentences
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More difficult in abstract concepts, fictitious names, sentences
 What is the reference for “faith”?

Philosophical Hermeneutics
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• Meaning as “state of mind” (esp. Schleiermacher)
• Difficult to know author’s “state of mind” except as informed by the words of the text/speech
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What are these ideas? Mental images/states, brain waves?
• The meaning of cat is the idea of “cat” – how are the two related?
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Meaning is established through conditions under which sentence is asserted – declaring, ordering, outcome etc.*
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But what are the criteria for establishing the conditions?
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Difficult to establish for long literary works

Philosophical Hermeneutics
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Texts, like words polysemous
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Polysemity extends to sentences, paragraphs, and texts
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Texts are open-ended – no limits to meaning in principle
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Not the same as no meaning at all
• Meaning depends on context, circumstances, reading strategy
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Strengths and weaknesses
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Conforms to wide disagreements on the interpretation on some texts
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Misunderstandings in day-to-day communication
• Interpretation of all texts are not contested (“No smoking”)
• Difficult to account for textual meaning in society, if such polyvalency is accepted

Philosophical Hermeneutics
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One (or very few) meanings of texts
• “smoking is not permitted” means one thing, not its opposite
• Accounts for the everyday usage when “meaning is sought”
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Are all texts, especially poetic texts so determinate?
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What about the misunderstandings in communication?
• What about the texts with wide interpretative disagreement?
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E.g. Revelation

Philosophical Hermeneutics
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Essential and accidental meanings
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Well-developed core meaning + accidental/contingent meanings dependent on context and circumstances
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Meanings and their implications
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Core meaning + implications of the text
• Author/user uses a text that is not part of the textual meaning
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Some may define meaning-implication as one and the same
 James on “faith and works”? “killed by hanging on a tree” (Acts 5:30*)
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Textual meaning well-defined and limited in core but also
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Varies intentions and implications
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Contextual meaning
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Accounts for varied readings/usage of texts & communication

Philosophical Hermeneutics
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In what sense is the textual meaning stable?
• “Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilate”
 Historic fact does not change
• Understanding of “how” of crucifixion may change somewhat
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At least two levels of meaning
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Original meaning and present-day significance
• Difference b/w “scientific” and poetic/metaphoric language
• Is scientific/technical language free from ambiguity?
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Scientific language also depends on contingent factors
• Research group, definitions, tools, theories…

Philosophical Hermeneutics
• “Closed” text more stable than “open” texts
• Compare Rev. & parables vs. statements of fact “Jesus died
 “open texts” are more polysemous and have multiple references
 Assertive and propositional language more stable
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Textual indeterminacy and narrative gaps
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Grammatical and syntactical gap
• [God]…was pleased to reveal His Son in me (Gal 1:16-17)
 “to me”, “in my heart”, “to me particularly” (cf. “love of God”)
• Imperative or indicative mood (1 Cor 12:31a)*
• Reference “we know you are a teacher from God” (3:2)

Philosophical Hermeneutics
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Relationship between textual segments
• Textual segments may present varying viewpoints
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Reader makes connections and bridges the gaps
• Reading of one segment may be corrected by later ones
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John 7:1-9 – “I am not going to festival…I am going”
• “Poverty” in Luke-Acts from Lk 1:51-53 to Acts 20:33-35
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Poetic/literary gaps - omission of verb or a word
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God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone [by evil]**
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The LORD is my Shepherd, [and therefore] I shall not want (Ps 23:1)
• Author’s communication strategy
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Open metaphoric or more exact and technical language?
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To what extent intentional? It is possible to know?
• Degree of ambiguity and gaps in the narrative
• E.g. Jesus’ parables; 2 Sam 11 (David and Bathseba)

Philosophical Hermeneutics
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Author
– establishes and conveys the text
• Authors use “commonly established” conventions
(syntax, words)
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Authors may know less about meaning of words and syntax than the audience
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Texts may have meaning other than intended by author
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Sensus plenior , typology, prophecy
• Many biblical texts anonymous – what then?
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Texts authored by God and humans – one or two meanings?
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Audience(s) – can audience know the meaning better?
• Is not the role of audience to understand, not establish meaning?
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Audience is supposed be constrained by the meaning
• Audiences are infinite in number
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Textual meanings also infinite?

Philosophical Hermeneutics
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• Shouting “Fire” in various contexts
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Crowded movie theater or lighting a candle or army officer
• What is the definition of “context”?
• How is it different from author/audience?
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Community determines the meaning
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Who/which one?
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Collection of people – related to text as author/audience
• Community may determine criteria or parameters for meaning but does not determine the meaning

Philosophical Hermeneutics
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Language – a set of rules (vocabulary, grammar etc.)
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Meaning of words/sentences also depends on context
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Need to decide on application of rules on each situation
• Users are responsible for usage
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Text – concrete arrangement of words
• Limits the meaning (compared to language) but still open to more than one way of understanding the arrangement of words
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Truth establishes conditions under which the sentence is true
• Works for declarative sentences “sky is blue”
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More difficult when truth value cannot be established
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Also need to establish criteria for truth conditions – how to pick?

Philosophical Hermeneutics
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Which one, how, and why?
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Who determines the criteria?
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Cultural functions as a determining factor
• Establishes the hierarchy of criteria
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Culture is rather ambiguous concepts
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Factors that give stability to meaning of texts*
• Basic dictionary – technical or metaphoric language
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Rules of co-reference – word meaning & the reading process
• E.g. the word “lot” or “trunk”
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Contextual and circumstantial selections
• “aye, aye” – board meeting or navy

Philosophical Hermeneutics
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Rhetorical and stylistic factors
• Figures of speech & rhetorical devices call for non-literal interpret
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Genre provides important parameters for correct interpretation
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Metaphor and figures of speech less delimiting
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Inferences from common frames – cultural, religious practices
• Frame of reference provides a “check” of textual meaning
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E.g. circumcision
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Intertextual and theological frames
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Textual and theological frames give clues to meaning
24 and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.
25 For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls. (1 Pet 2:24-25)
 Allusions to Isa 53 points to Jesus as suffering Servant

Philosophical Hermeneutics
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Primary criteria – theology as informed by Scripture establishes core criteria
• Organizes the other criteria and factors