HERMENEUTICS (REL 2250)
Spring Semester 2002
Lecturer: Dr. Stephen Palmquist
“We always mean more than we
say, and say more than we mean.”
— Michael Polanyi (paraphrased)
“... an exposition of
revelation ... is required, that is, a thorough-going interpretation of it in a
sense agreeing with the universal practical rules of a religion of pure
reason.... For the final purpose even of reading these holy scriptures, or of
investigating their content, is to make men better...” — Immanuel
Kant
“Do not interpretations belong
to God?” — Genesis
40:8
Objectives
The
activities of reading, writing, speaking, and listening are so common that we
rarely think about the fact that the meaning of the words we use is never completely
straightforward. In order for “mere words” to mean something, some degree of interpretation must take place. Interpreting words is something all
of us do every day, and yet we hardly ever stop to think about how
interpretation itself actually works. The purpose of this subject is to examine
how the process of interpretation works, both objectively and subjectively.
The
word “hermeneutics” comes from the Greek word hermeneia, which simply means “explanation”, or
“interpretation”. Although it is usually defined as “the science of interpretation”, we will regard
hermeneutics as having an artistic
element as well. That is, good interpretation requires not only scientific elements, such as principles and guidelines that
help us distinguish between the “true” and the “false”,
but also artistic elements, such
as talents and techniques that help us distinguish between the
“beautiful” and the “ugly”. We will begin our study of
this relatively new discipline (which began to flourish only in the last half
of the twentieth century) by examining various contemporary and
historically significant theories of interpretation, together with their
philosophical assumptions. But the focus will always be on how we can learn to
equip ourselves more fully with the skill of interpreting (especially interpreting texts) with both accuracy and insight.
Although
hermeneutics is primarily a branch of philosophy and/or theology, many of the
texts used in this class explicitly for the purpose of practising the skill of
interpretation will be religious.
We will therefore pay special attention to types of words and word usages that
are especially common in religious language, such as allegory, prophecy, etc.
Our goal when looking at any of these texts, whether it be the Bible talking
about God’s grace, the Buddha talking about Nirvana’s nothingness,
or a philosopher talking about the relation between religion and morality, will
be to learn to balance the science of finding the correct meaning with the art
of making that meaning significant
for our own life.
Requirements and Grade Assessment
Attend
lectures, participate in the presentations, and do the readings! Suggested readings will be placed on
“one day” reserve in the library throughout the semester (see
separate list).
I. Presentation/Discussion sessions (30%): Each student will lead at least one (possibly
several) class session(s) at some point during the semester. This will in most
cases involve presenting a paper (see §II, below), then leading a
discussion on that topic. (Other, more imaginative alternatives will be
considered, but these must be approved in advance by the lecturer.) The total
time for the presentation and discussion should be about 20 minutes. Your
performance in leading the class session(s) will count 15% of your grade.
Attendence at and participation in the other sessions will count the other 15%
in this category.
II. Papers. 30% of your grade will be based on three short papers:
(A) Word Study (10%)
(B) Textual Analysis (10%)
(C) Philosophical Analysis (10%)
Further
details on these papers, their due dates, etc., will be given later. In cases
where the paper is used as the basis for a class presentation, it should be
handed in at the lecturer’s office no later than 8am on the day the presentation
takes place. The presentation itself should involve more than just reading through the paper, illustrating
your main points in some interesting and creative way(s). For instance, you may
wish to include drama, music, debate, poetry reading, etc. in your
presentation. Roughly half of the total time should be left for questions
and discussion of issues arising from your presentation.
III. Examination: 40% of your grade will be
based on the final exam, which will probably consists of two essay questions
(worth 20% each).
Tentative Lecture Schedule
I. Introduction (4 hours)
A.
The function and importance of interpretation
B.
A survey of key issues
II. Basic Hermeneutic Principles and Forms (6 hours)
A.
Language and context
B.
History and culture
C.
Symbols and rituals
D.
Typology and myths
E.
Poetry and figures of speech
III. Biblical Interpretation (5 hours)
A.
Methods of textual criticism
B.
Prophecy in the Old Testament
C.
The parables of Jesus
D.
Doctrinal texts
E.
Devotional texts
IV. Historical Overview of Philosophical Theories (10
hours)
A.
Pre-modern assumptions and practises
B.
Modern approaches: interpretation as a science
C.
Post-modern approaches: interpretation as an art
V. Conclusions (3 hours)
A.
Avoiding artificial assumptions
B.
Maintaining balance
Contacting the Lecturer Outside
of Class (Office Hours, etc.)
My
office hours this semester will be Tuesdays from 1:30pm to 4:20pm and Thursdays
from 12:30pm to 3:20pm. I will (normally) plan to be in my office (CEC905)
during these hours, so if you wish to discuss anything with me, you may come at
those times without a prior appointment. If you need (or would prefer) to see
me at a different time, please make an appointment first. Alternatively, you
may send questions/comments to me by email (stevepq@hkbu.edu.hk); however, if
my response is relevant to the whole class, then I might wait to answer your
question until the next class session. Alternatively, I might send the reply by
email to the whole class, using the special address that has been set up for
that purpose (i.e., &REL2250-00001@hkbu.edu.hk).
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This
page was last updated on 20 June 2002.