THE PROCESS OF INTERPRETATION ...

... is a circular one

calling for a movement

from a part to whole

and back to the part.

The paradigm
for this hermeneutical circle,
or, better, helix,
is the understanding of a sentence.

This requires

an understanding of individual words

which requires

an understanding of the sentence

which requires

an understanding of the paragraph

which requires

an understanding of individual sentences

which requires

an understanding of the language and social practices

with which it is interwoven.

Coming to understand a text

is a process of temporarily progressive feedback.

I understand the first word in a sentence

in the light of an expectation

regarding what kind of word will follow,

and likewise

for the words that do follow.

But

my expectations are not always fulfilled,

and they are usually fairly general.

By the time I have reached the full stop

or the end of the paragraph,

hitherto possible meanings

of later sentences or paragraphs

may have surprises in store for me

that will call for a revision

in my understanding of the text so far.

This is why

the so-called

hermeneutical circle

is really a spiral ....

adapted from John Llwelyn , Beyond Metaphysics?

The Hermeneutic Circle in Contemporary Continental Philosophy,

Alantic Highlands, NJ: Humanities, 1985.