ABSTRACT
Hermeneutics continues to be an area of great interest to many disciplines, yet recent discussions in hermeneutic theory have turned towards more fringe areas, whether in realms of post-structuralism or radical orthodoxy, that seem to tum either to the patristic or the postmodem writers at the expense of many voices who offer a tertium quid that is both critical and liberating. 1 This volume seeks to remember some of hermeneutics' key thinkers, with particular attention given to the hermeneutic legacy of Immanuel Kant, and seeks to reaffirm Kant's place as a central thinker for hermeneutics. Particularly in regard to his third critique, it has been argued that Kant merely offers a theory of the subjective universality of rational aesthetic judgment where reason alone connects us to the transcendent, and that sensation is a subjective and confusing factor that ultimately distracts and distorts reason. This position is challenged by the various contributors to The Sacred and the Profane by framing the discussion ofhermeneutics as being a deliberately interdisciplinary, cross-cultural affair that remains exacting in its search for understanding and wholeness.
