The Cambridge Companion to Hermeneutics

by Michael N. Forster (Editor), Kristin Gjesdal (Editor)

Hermeneutics, the study of interpretation, is an essential and valuable branch of philosophy. Hermeneutics is also a central component of the methodology of the social sciences and the humanities, for example historiography, anthropology, art history, and literary criticism. In a sequence of accessible chapters, contributors across the human sciences explain the leading concepts and ideas of hermeneutics, the historical development of the field, the importance of hermeneutics in philosophy today, and the ways in which it can address contemporary concerns including intercultural relations, relations between subcultures within a single society, and relations across race and gender. Clearly structured and written in non-technical language, this Companion will be an important contribution to a growing field of study.

Genres: Philosophy

432 pages, Hardcover

Published January 3, 2019

Reviews

[Preston Bova · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the chapters ranged from being extremely lucid to impossibly opaque. There is the ever real possibility that I’m too dull to interpret what the authors meant for me to understand—if indeed their goal was to be understood.

This is probably a great reference and tool for those smarter than me, but I struggled with as many chapters as I found illuminating.

[Lukas Merrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of the essays are good in this volume. It provides a detailed look into the development of modern hermeneutics and how it came to life in the German tradition.