ABSTRACT
As a science of interpretation and philosophy of understanding, hermeneutics is implicated whenever human communication takes place. Originally developed for the purpose of interpreting ancient and classical texts, hermeneutic thinking has in more recent times become adapted to the needs of the human and social sciences. This paper sets out the principal perspectives within the hermeneutic movement with reference to the work of Dilthey, Gadamer, Habermas and Ricoeur. Possible justifications for the applicability of hermeneutic philosophy to the clinical encounter are then explored and the application of hermeneutic approaches is illustrated by means of a brief vignette taken from general practice. The vignette records a genuine consultation, taken at random. General practice was chosen here because the consultations are brief, but clinical hermeneutics might equally well be illustrated by nursing, physiotherapy, speech therapy, psychology, or any clinical context.
