Published in 1997, this volume is written from a hermenutico-phenomenological point of view. The essays cover a spectrum of relevant issues: the essential interpretation of science; the possibility of a "strong hermeneutics of science" that takes into consideration science's cognitive structure; the implications of existential-ontological interpretations of science for the post-metaphysical dialogue between hermeneutics and epistomology; the place of rhetorical tools in the human sciences; and the strategies of overcoming the legitimation crisis of the human sciences. Because of its commitment to the radical universalization of the hermeneutic problem, the strong programme of hermeneutics of science, suggested in this book, avoids both objectivism and relativism. In this regard, the essays must be read in relation to the search for a middle way between defending epistemic rationality as a basis for futher development of the "project of modernity" and the postmodern deconstruction of all cognitive identities of modernity.

Collected and translated by John B. Thompson, this collection of essays by Paul Ricoeur includes many that had never appeared in English before the volume's publication in 1981. As comprehensive as it is illuminating, this lucid introduction to Ricoeur's prolific contributions to sociological theory features his more recent writings on the history of hermeneutics, its central themes and issues, his own constructive position and its implications for sociology, psychoanalysis and history. Presented in a fresh twenty-first-century series livery, and including a specially commissioned preface written by Charles Taylor, illuminating its enduring importance and relevance to philosophical enquiry, this classic work has been revived for a new generation of readers.

This richly textured book bridges analytic and hermeneutic and phenomenological philosophy of science. It features unique resources for students of the philosophy and history of quantum mechanics and the Copenhagen Interpretation, cognitive theory and the psychology of perception, the history and philosophy of art, and the pragmatic and historical relationships between religion and science.

"Many years ago, upon reading Thomas S. Kuhn's work "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions", I was taken aback by the obvious parallels between the subject of that book and the field of biblical exegesis. It seemed strange then-- and more so now after all these years-- that no one had sought to draw out the implications of Kuhn's ideas for better understanding the conflicts that frequently arise over the interpretation of Scripture." --(from the preface) In this new volume of the Foundation of Contemporary Interpretation series, Vern Poythress gives an explanation of the conflicts that often arise between science and the interpretation of Scripture. Novices and experts alike will be fascinated by the author's clear and perceptive account of the relationship between science and hermeneutics. Pythress' analysis will help students of the Bible appreciate the origin and nature of interpretive disputes, aid students in developing exegetical skills, and allow students to examine opposing views.

Examines the nature of rhetorical theory and criticism, the rhetoric of science, and the impact of poststructuralism and postmodernism on contemporary accounts of rhetoric.