Hermeneutika

Hermeneutika (or hermeneutics) is the theory and methodology of interpretation, with emphasis on understanding meaning in texts, symbols, and social practices. It studies how interpretation is shaped by language, context, and the interpreter’s own assumptions, and how meanings evolve across cultures and time.

A central concept is the hermeneutic circle: to understand a text one interprets parts in light of the whole, while the whole is understood through its parts. Horizons of the author and reader meet in a process called the fusion of horizons, which acknowledges historical and cultural distance.

Historically, hermeneutics arose in biblical and classical interpretation and developed through modern philosophy. Key figures include Friedrich Schleiermacher, who stressed language and writer’s intent; Wilhelm Dilthey, who applied interpretation to the human sciences; Martin Heidegger, who linked interpretation to being; Hans-Georg Gadamer, who emphasized historicity and dialogue; and Paul Ricoeur, who focused on narrative meaning.

In contemporary use, hermeneutika informs literary criticism, biblical and legal interpretation, philosophy, and social sciences. Methods range from exegesis and textual criticism to discourse analysis. Debates address the balance between authorial meaning, reader interpretation, and cultural power, as well as questions of objectivity, bias, and the role of language in shaping understanding.