Hermeneutics
hidden - secret - interpretation
In place of a hermeneutics we need an erotics of art. --(Susan Sontag, 1964)
Definition
Hermeneutics (Hermeneutic means interpretive), is a term derived from the Greek verb 'to interpret' and may be described as the theory of interpretation. Thus it is a branch of philosophy concerned with human understanding and the interpretation of texts. Recently the concept of texts has been extended beyond written documents to include, for example, speech, performances, works of art, and even events.
The word hermeneutics has two derivations. One is from the Greek god Hermes in his role as patron of interpretive communication and human understanding, while the other is from the syncretic Ptolemaic deity Hermes Trismegistus, in his role as representing hidden or secret knowledge. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermeneutics [Aug 2005]
As literary theory
- Friedrich Schleiermacher, Wilhelm Dilthey, Hans-Georg Gadamer, Erich Auerbach
see also: literary criticism - theory - literature
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