"...the way we experience one another, the way we experience historical traditions, the way we experience the natural givenness of our existence and of our world, constitute a truly hermeneutic universe, in which we are not imprisoned, as if behind insurmountable barriers, but to which we are opened."Hans-Georg Gadamer "Truth and Method" (my emphasis) keep … Continue reading Philosophical Quote on Interpretation as Way of Being
Spreading the Word: How AI Interprets Art?
Have you ever felt bewildered when looking at contemporary art? I know I have. Sometimes it is even difficult to understand what is art anymore. Maybe such musings are part of art's genius. So imagine what it is like for an AI to 'interpret' contemporary art. How would an algorithm go about recognising art and … Continue reading Spreading the Word: How AI Interprets Art?
Disrupting and Creating Meaning
We, humans, are remarkably flexible beings. Sometimes, we surprise even ourselves if we pay attention. For example, take Jacques Derrida's idea of deconstruction. As a way of thinking, it takes a settled meaning we accept as true and dismantles it to show how inherently arbitrary any one such interpretation is. In other words, its opposite … Continue reading Disrupting and Creating Meaning
Spreading the Word: What is Deconstruction?
What do philosophers mean when they talk about deconstruction? This concept is rather simpler than it might sound. It is associated with the 20th-century philosopher Jacques Derrida who introduced it as a notion describing a way of thinking. What sort of thinking? Have a listen to this interesting short video and find out about some … Continue reading Spreading the Word: What is Deconstruction?
Spreading the Word: Lecture on Gadamer and Hermeneutics II
Last week, I shared with you a video lecture by Dr Michael Sugrue on Hans-Georg Gadamer, an influential 20th-century German philosopher who developed philosophical hermeneutics. This branch of philosophy focuses on human understanding, interpretation, and meaning creation. Today, I share another take on Gadamer's philosophy - Understanding and Dialogue: What I Have Learned from H. … Continue reading Spreading the Word: Lecture on Gadamer and Hermeneutics II
Spreading the Word: Lecture on Gadamer and Hermeneutics
In today's post, I would like to share with you another fascinating lecture by Dr. Michael Sugrue - Gadamer: Hermeneutics and the Human Sciences. Philosophical hermeneutics is a branch of philosophy interested in human understanding, interpretation, and meaning creation. Hans-Georg Gadamer was a 20th-century German philosopher, a leading thinker whose major work "Truth and Method" (1960) … Continue reading Spreading the Word: Lecture on Gadamer and Hermeneutics
Why Interpretation Matters?
As storytelling creatures, we humans interpret words, texts, conversations, and the world all the time. We make sense by interpreting. We learn this early in life and get so good at it that soon enough we stop noticing that we are interpreting, not to mention what results from our meaning-making activity and why we have … Continue reading Why Interpretation Matters?
Spreading the Word: What is Hermeneutics?
This Friday I share with you a short video that introduces hermeneutics. A fascinating field of philosophy as well as a method of study in the humanities, hermeneutics is all about interpretation. It brings to the fore the importance of how we interpret our experiences and that we are never really fully free (objective) of … Continue reading Spreading the Word: What is Hermeneutics?
Let’s Talk Miracles – What Are They?
Last year around this time I wrote about miracles. More specifically, the 18th century Scottish philosopher's David Hume's views on them. It is that season again when my thoughts, at least sometimes, turn to the topic of miracles. Perhaps especially this year. Wouldn't the world really need a few good miracles now! It turns out, … Continue reading Let’s Talk Miracles – What Are They?
Trap of Easier Interpretation – the Case of Heraclitus
In our dynamic world, it is easy to misunderstand things, to believe fake news, to allow oneself to be misled. Sometimes it happens due to conscious manipulation by others, other times - all too often - due to our own biases. One of such biases is something I would like to call a trap of easier … Continue reading Trap of Easier Interpretation – the Case of Heraclitus
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