ABSTRACT
The interpretation theory called ‘hermeneutics’ has made significant contributions to a better understanding of the matter of interpretation. Traditional hermeneutics aimed for the development of interpretative methods in order to minimize the arbitrariness and subjectivity in the interpretation of religious texts. The elaboration of a ‘Kunstlehre’ or ‘doctrine of art’ by the German theologian and philosopher Friedrich Schleiermacher, which cultivated understanding according to rigorous standards, constituted a decisive moment in the history of hermeneutics. In the nineteenth century, some intellectuals, drawing on Friedrich Schleiermacher’s writings, conceived of hermeneutics principally as a methodological reflection on the scientific status of the human sciences. Having been envisaged as an art of textual interpretation of texts and, later, as a methodology for the human sciences, hermeneutics progressively transformed itself into a philosophical approach to interpretation. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
