The Hermeneutic Loop

Over-simplified, hermeneutics (named for the Greek messenger god, Hermes) is “the art of interpretation.” It began as a formal discipline during the Renaissance, when scholars began to study ancient texts, including the Bible, with the intent of deriving precise meaning. The discipline has evolved over the years and been expanded to virtually any area that involves interpretation, including humankind's fundamental experience of being in the world. One of the most interesting aspects of hermeneutics is the hermeneutic loop.

The hermeneutic loop is the cyclic pattern that develops because we can understand the whole of something only in terms of its parts and the parts only through their relationship to the whole. A change of understanding at either pole, whole or parts, triggers a change in understanding of the other pole, thus forcing us into an unending interpretive loop.

For example, a student reading Hamlet for the first time would fail to see much of the play’s subtlety and depth. After reading the play, however, the student might realize that certain parts of the play open a better understanding the whole play. A second reading would draw deeper meaning from those parts, giving the student a better understanding of the whole. This new understanding of the whole would trigger more interpretation of those parts and disclose potential meanings in other parts, which would stimulate more readings.

Great works of literature will lead the reader into ever-deepening loops of understanding, as each new interpretation of the whole uncovers deeper significance latent in the parts.