The hermeneutic circle and the hermeneutic centre

Abstract

Since Heidegger the figure of the "hermeneutic circle" has found wide acceptance among students of all humanities disciplines, especially in philosophy and religion, who consider it the best way to interpret ancient and foreign texts. Hans Georg Gadamer, especially, through his extensive comments on the "Vor-urteil" (literally "pre-judgement," an unavoidable culturally and historically conditioned premise) has made it plausible that we must consciously establish a "virtuous circle" when we attempt to understand anything in depth.1 "Circle", in such a context, is no longer mere metaphor but a realistic description of the process of understanding which moves from a given premise to embrace a new situation in order to return to the origin of the question. Every circle is connected to a central point ' the circle is defined as a line whose every point is equidistant from one point, called "centre". To the best of my knowledge nobody has as yet dealt with the "hermeneutic centre". I believe it is crucial to address it in order to not only describe the process of hermeneutics but to understand what hermeneutics is all about and to recognize its limitations in an inter-cultural context.