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The hermeneutic circle: a key to critical reading - Ness Labs

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Hermeneutics deals with interpretation. When we interpret a text, it's not linear: it’s a cycle, which is called the hermeneutic circle.

For a text to be interpreted, you need a text and an interpreter. This may seem obvious, but too often we forget that our interpretation of a text is shaped by our pre-existing beliefs, knowledge, and expectations. Hermeneutics is the branch of research that deals with interpretation. When we interpret a text, it’s not a linear process: it’s a cycle, which is called the hermeneutic circle. Understanding the hermeneutic circle is key to critical reading. The hermeneutic circle refers to the idea that our understanding of a text as a whole is based on our understanding of each individual part, a

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