|
||
Definition:
The phrase "hermeneutic circle" refers to the circle of interpretation necessarily
involved when understanding some work of art. According to this theory, it isn't possible
to really understand any one part of a work until you understand the whole, but it also
isn't possible to understand the whole without also understanding all of the parts.
This is not actually a paradox in which a person is trapped and never able to understand an artwork. It is, instead, a way of explaining and expressing how understanding and interpreting a work of art is an ongoing process which takes time. As more information about the work is acquired, an interpretation gradually changes to incorporate that. Those who argue that no attempt at interpretation can ever reach any sort of closure will refer to this as a hermeneutic spiral, because it simply goes around and around forever.
Also Known As: none
Alternate Spellings: none
Common Misspellings: none
Related Resources:
What is Aesthetics?
In philosophy, aesthetics is the study of beauty and taste, whether in the form of the comic, the tragic or the sublime. Aesthetics has traditionally been part of other philosophical pursuits like the investigation of epistemology or ethics. However, it started to come into its own and become a more independent pursuit under Immanuel Kant, the German philosopher who saw aesthetics as a unitary and self-sufficient type of human experience.What is Philosophy?
What is philosophy? Is there any point in studying philosophy, or is it a useless subject? What are the different branches of philosophy - what's the difference between aestheitcs and ethics? What's the difference between metaphysics and epistemology?
