the hermeneutical circle or the hermeneutical spiral?

Inspired Subjectivity and Hermeneutical Objectivity

Objectivity is the goal of hermeneutics so that the text of Scripture may speak for itself. For an interpreter to bring his subjective views to the text jeopardizes the authority o f the Word. Two forces at work among evangelicals today tend to increase the subjective element in interpretation. The first is the principle of the analogy of faith or the harmonizing of different texts with one ano...

Toward a Hermeneutical Evolutionary Theory

The Hermeneutical Paradigm in African Philosophy

The aim of this reflection is a diachronic analysis and an appreciation of the hermeneutical paradigm in African philosophy. This paradigm raises the problem of the relationship between culture and philosophy and subsequently, the problem of the relationship between universality and particularity. In fact, it seems evident that if philosophy is not a cultural product, it is nevertheless a criti...

Truth in the Digital Library: From Ontological to Hermeneutical Systems

This paper deals with the conceptual structures which describe document contents in a digital library. Indeed, the underlying question is about the truth of a description: obvious (ontological), by convention (normative) or based on interpretation (hermeneutical). In the first part, we examine the differences between these three points of view and choose the hermeneutical one. Then in the secon...

A phenomenological hermeneutical method for researching lived experience.

This study describes a phenomenological hermeneutical method for interpreting interview texts inspired by the theory of interpretation presented by Paul Ricoeur. Narrative interviews are transcribed. A naïve understanding of the text is formulated from an initial reading. The text is then divided into meaning units that are condensed and abstracted to form sub-themes, themes and possibly main t...

Hermeneutical Validation of Biblical Principles Used in Christian Education

Research has revealed that biblical Christianity is declining as a life-ordering force among American Christian youth (Barna Group, 2009; Ham & Beemer, 2009; Smithwick, 2008). This trend continues despite the ubiquitous references to terms like biblical integration and biblical worldview in Christian school mission statements. In fact, from its inception, the evangelical Christian school moveme...