What is Hermeneutics? An Exploration into the Nature of Interpretation and Understanding.

The creative and accurate interpretation of phenomena is central to achieving an understanding of the world and our fellow man. However, the process of interpretation is little understood by behavioral scientists and educators. Hermeneutics promises greater insight into the nature of interpretation of phenomena since the foundation of a hermeneutic stance transfers the point of attention in analytic tasks from causal, psychological explanations of behavior to a position which keeps clear an understanding of the existential nature of the self within social environments. Research into interpretive understanding must adopt such a hermeneutic stance in order to expand current conceptions of human psychology. (CH)