Hermeneutics
<p><b>Hermeneutics</b> (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English" title="Help:IPA for English">/hɛrməˈnuːtɪks/</a> or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA_for_English" title="Help:IPA for English">/hɛrməˈnjuːtɪks/</a>)<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermeneutics#cite_note-1">[1]</a></sup> is the theory and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methodology" title="Methodology">methodology</a> of interpretation,<sup id="cite_ref-ahd_2-0" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermeneutics#cite_note-ahd-2">[2]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-mw_3-0" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermeneutics#cite_note-mw-3">[3]</a></sup> especially the interpretation of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_hermeneutics" title="Biblical hermeneutics">biblical texts</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisdom_literature" title="Wisdom literature">wisdom literature</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy" title="Philosophy">philosophical texts</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermeneutics#cite_note-4">[4]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermeneutics#cite_note-5">[5]</a></sup> It started out as a theory of text interpretation but has been later broadened to questions of general interpretation.<sup id="cite_ref-:0_6-0" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermeneutics#cite_note-:0-6">[6]</a></sup>
Hermeneutics was initially applied to the interpretation, or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exegesis" title="Exegesis">exegesis</a>, of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_texts" class="mw-redirect" title="Religious texts">scripture</a>. The terms "hermeneutics" and "exegesis" are sometimes used interchangeably. Hermeneutics is a wider discipline which includes written, verbal, and non-verbal<sup id="cite_ref-Routledge_7-0" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermeneutics#cite_note-Routledge-7">[7]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-JMN_8-0" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermeneutics#cite_note-JMN-8">[8]</a></sup> communication. Exegesis focuses primarily upon texts.
Modern hermeneutics includes both verbal and non-verbal communication<sup id="cite_ref-Routledge_7-1" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermeneutics#cite_note-Routledge-7">[7]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-JMN_8-1" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermeneutics#cite_note-JMN-8">[8]</a></sup> as well as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semiotics" title="Semiotics">semiotics</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presupposition" title="Presupposition">presuppositions</a>, and pre-understandings. Hermeneutics has been broadly applied in the humanities, especially in law, history and theology.
Hermeneutic, as a singular noun, refers to some particular method of interpretation (see, in contrast, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_hermeneutic" title="Double hermeneutic">double hermeneutic</a>).</p>