Hermeneutic

Hermeneutics

Although hermeneutic literally means “making the obscure plain,” it is generally translated as “to interpret” or “to understand.” Hermeneutics emerged in 17th-century Germany as a method of biblical interpretation. Later, it was applied to other texts, particularly those that are obscure, alien, or symbolic. The aim is to uncover the meanings and intentions that are hidden in the text, including those of which even the author may not have been aware (known as philological hermeneutics). In the context of social research, hermeneutics is concerned with the interpretation of meaningful human action.

The philosophic opposition between positivism and hermeneutics can be seen in ...