Hermeneutics means the science of interpretation'', or thescience of
communication''. For instance, when we study history we are listening to
the voices of the past, which are communicating with us through the
documents and things people left behind. These may be things found by
archaeologists, such as pots and tools. Schleiermacher, and other
hermeneuticians such as Martin Heidegger and Hans-Georg Gadamer,
believed that we could use hermeneutics to understand all forms of human
behaviour. Hermeneutics has critical implications for education because
when educators and learners listen and communicate with each other,
effective learning takes place.
OVERVIEW
The formal studies of hermeneutics started in the 16th century and
concentrated on the interpretation of ancient sacred texts. By the 19th
century, hermeneutics was being used for the understanding of both sacred
and profane texts. Today hermeneutics is used in our understanding of text,
art, music, science etc. Schleiermacher believed it should be used for all
forms of human expression. Heidegger and Gadamer claimed that both
culture and history are important in hermeneutics to understand other
human beings.
Postmodernism is a philosophical mode of inquiry that raises important
questions and challenges our faith in modernism. Modernists have a very
strong belief in the power of science and scientific discoveries. Technology
is seen as the solution to most problems. They believe that human beings
can master themselves and the world around them by careful, logical
reasoning.
Postmodernism invites us to rethink our belief in science and scientific
progress. For instance, what drives us as human beings? Do our lives have
meaning outside of mere scientific discoveries? Are we all merely reason-
able individuals? What about our desires, hopes, wishes, dreams,
aspirations and nightmares? Can modernity, which relies on science,
explain these? What about the make-believe world of neon advertising
screens, giant billboards and glass lifts, man-made lakes, aquariums, bird
cages in shopping malls, or images and dreams in the make-believe world of
modern cinemas? And what about failed intimate relations, routine trouble
with neighbours or colleagues at work, violent crime, racial unrest,
rampant unemployment, the widening gap between the rich and poor, and
political and religious fundamentalism? Postmodernism recognises that
while these issues sound silly and trivial, and may not be scientifically
explained, they do shed some light on what it means to be human.
OVERVIEW
Postmodernism's disbelief in our powers of reasoning to liberate us, its
radical scepticism and finally its rejection of all metanarratives have made
it either hated or loved in education and training institutions, depending on
the emotions it evokes
