HERMENEUTICS (Richard E. Palmer)

Notes from

Hermeneutics:
Interpretation Theory in Schleiermacher, Dilthey, Heidegger, and Gadamer

—a book by Richard E. Palmer (Evanston: Nortwestern UP, 1969)

Part I: On the Definition, Scope, and Significance of Hermeneutics; 
Part II: Four Major Theorists (Schleiermacher, Dilthey, Heidegger and Gadamer); 
Part III: A Hermeneutical Manifesto to American Literary Interpretation. 

Notes taken by José Angel García Landa.

 —oOo—

PART I: ON THE DEFINITION, SCOPE, AND SIGNIFICANCE OF HERMENEUTICS

1. INTRODUCTION

3- The 'New Hermeneutic' is the dominant movement in Protestant theology in Europe (with Gerhard Ebeling). For Heidegger, philosophy should be 'hermeneutical'.

4- Hirsch proposes hermeneutics as a foundation for all literary interpretation. Palmer will provide here a general introduction to hermeneutics with a view to contribute to literary interpretation. Webster's definition: hermeneutics is "the study of the methodological principles of interpretation and exploration; specif.: the study of the general principles of biblical interpretation").

5- Palmer favours a phenomenological approach to interpretation.

Some Consequences of Common-Sense Objectivity in American Literary Criticism.

Suffering from naive realism, it thinks of the work as separate from one's perception or from the author's intention, as a 'being' in itself. "The preliminary separation of subject and object, so axiomatic in realism, becomes the philosophical foundation and framework for literary interpretation."

6- This may be fruitful but is questionable under phenomenological assumptions. Modern literary criticism imitates the scientist's approach; analysis and interpretation become synonymous [for the New Criticism - JAGL]. They denounce the affective fallacy and promote a technological approach to interpretation,

7- —but these promote the indifference to literature bewailed by the same critics. Cf. Merleau-Ponty's observation: "Science manipulates things and gives up living in them." Palmer: "Dialogue, not dissection, opens up the world of a literary work. Disinterested objectivity is not appropriate to the understanding of a literary work." We should see works as "humanly created texts which speak"; Palmer opposes Frye's 'anatomies' and advocates "a humanistic understanding of what interpretation of a work involves."

Literary Interpretation, Hermeneutics, and the Interpretation of Works

The work is not simply an "object". It is the work of a man or of God, and as such it needs to be seen as meaningful. "This 'deciphering' process, this 'understanding' the meaning of a work,
8- is the focus of hermeneutics. Hermeneutics is the study of understanding, especially the task of understanding texts." It is a humanistic and historical mode of understanding, beyond the (necessary) treatment of the work as object. Hermeneutics is not a set of devices, but an attention to (1) understanding a text, (2) the nature of understanding and interpretation. These are interacting foci in hermeneutics.

9- Existing is a constant process of interpretation. Interpretation exceeds linguistic interpretation; it is the basis of human interaction, more basic than language (although language is an essential element in human communication). Palmer favours a complex concept of interpretation in criticism. The work should be seen as a voice, not as an object—hearing it.

10- "understanding is both an epistemological and an ontological phenomenon"; understanding a work of literature is "an historical encounter which calls forth personal experience of being here in the world." "As a German current of thought, hermeneutics came to be profoundly influenced by German phenomenology and existential philosophy." Hermeneutics transcends disciplines: it is fundamental, more than interdisciplinary.  And it clarifies the nature and the task of the humanities.


2. HERMENEUEIN AND HERMENEIA: THE MODERN SIGNIFICANCE OF THEIR ANCIENT USAGE   — Read more here.

—oOo—

_____. "Notes on Richard E. Palmer's Hermeneutics: Interpretation Theory in Schleiermacher, Dilthey, Heidegger and Gadamer." c. 1990. Online ed. at Net Sight de José Angel García Landa. 2014.*

  http://www.unizar.es/departamentos/filologia_inglesa/garciala/publicaciones/Palmer.Hermeneutics.html

         2014

_____. "Notes on Richard E. Palmer's Hermeneutics: Interpretation Theory in Schleiermacher, Dilthey, Heidegger and Gadamer." Academia.edu 15 Nov. 2014.*

         https://www.academia.edu/9319687/

         2014

_____. "Notes on Richard E. Palmer's Hermeneutics: Interpretation Theory in Schleiermacher, Dilthey, Heidegger and Gadamer." ResearchGate 16 Nov. 2014.*

         01/1990; DOI: 10.13140/2.1.2454.4963

         https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268332697

         2014

_____. "Notes on Richard E. Palmer's Hermeneutics: Interpretation Theory in Schleiermacher, Dilthey, Heidegger and Gadamer." Humanities Commons 19 June 2018.*

         http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/M65M6262N
https://hcommons.org/deposits/item/hc:19739/

         2018

_____. "Hermeneutics (Richard E. Palmer)." In García Landa, Vanity Fea 23 July 2014.*

    http://vanityfea.blogspot.com.es/2014/07/hermeneutics-richard-e-palmer.html

         2014

_____. "Notes on Richard E. Palmer's Hermeneutics: Interpretation Theory in Schleiermacher, Dilthey, Heidegger and Gadamer." Humanities Commons 19 June 2018.*

         http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/M65M6262N
https://hcommons.org/deposits/item/hc:19739/

         2018

_____. "Notes on Richard E. Palmer's Hermeneutics: Interpretation Theory in Schleiermacher, Dilthey, Heidegger and Gadamer." Social Science Research Network 11 July 2018.*

         http://ssrn.com/abstract=3199584

         2018

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