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A way to read textual and contextual approach
Dichotomy between Textual And Contextual Approach
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political science hons
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AWay To Read A "Text': Textual And Contextual Approach
Reading a text is an essential part of epistemology i. knowledge creation. The kind of
knowledge that is created and even what is counted as knowledge itself depends upon the
####### availability of texts.
####### A text is not merely printed words. It can be an expression of thoughts, not necessarily
####### always in printed words. The words or the medium of expression speaks about the
####### creator of that knowledge.
####### The liberal understanding of epistemology is problematic as
####### there is an understanding that
####### knowledge can be created by an isolated, rational and objective individual. However,
####### it
fails to acknowledge the fact that ontology is a stepping stone towards
epistemology.
####### The knowledge of self affects any expression as it leaves an
####### impression on what we seek as
knowledge and what we create as knowledge. So, when we are
studying political thinkers,
####### we must understand their vantage point and what was the
####### context in which the text was
produced at the original place.
Even important to place the reader and their vantage point
while reading or re-reading
####### the text. It becomes clear that a text has its own life independent of
####### the creator and ideas
####### and thoughts are the product of that thinker's time as well as that of
####### the readers.
Why certain thoughts are prioritized and why others are pushed to the
periphery or
####### ignored, are all connected with the politics of text and context.
####### There is a relevance of
####### those texts which give different meanings in different contexts.
It is the act of interpretation connects text and context.
Textual Approach
It is aperfect example of the application of the Hermeneutics to the
interpretation of
classics. It implies that we should focus on the language of the given text to understand its
real meaning. It primarily based on a belief that the text of a classic contains
the
expression of eternal truth. So, text should not be treated as an occasional response to
the author's experiences or to the historical or sociological circumstance of his times.
AWay ToRead A "Text': Textual And
Contextual Approach
Leo Strauss was the chief-exponent of this approach.
He was German Jewish Refugees who
took shelter in the USA owing to the fear of persecution by the Nazi
Germany.
He claimed that the works of Plato and a handful of
other authors contain the whole truth
about politics, which is accessible to the fortunate
few. It is by no means easy to find its
real meaning.
Hitler had acquired power in Germany
through a liberal democratic system ie. Weimer
Republic. He was deeply convinced that Western-type liberal
democracy had no answer to
the problems of humanity.
He even viewed that the history of modern western liberal political
thought as a story of
degeneration (collapse) and enfeeblement (weakening).
He contrasted it with the
strength of the classicalGreek and Roman political
thought by implying that we should look
for the remedy of the ills of modern society in classical
political philosophy.
Strauss once declared that "the crisis of our time is a
consequence of the crisis of political
philosophy."
He and his followers sought to diagnose and cure the ills of
the present in the realm of
classical political philosophy.
They even repudiated (rejected) the historicist view that different
ages have different
mentalities and outlooks which were no longer relevant to the present time.
They argued that "if we could decode the real meaning of the encoded messages of old
philosophers [who were fearful of persecution by the rulers of their times]; we would be
benefited by the extremely valuable knowledge embodied therein.
Strauss advised that Interpretation of ancient texts involves reading between the lines in
order to reveal, hidden, meaning as if it were written in a kind of invisible ink.
It means that we should try to determine its meaning in the light of his line of argument
which may be found in his own writing,
AWay To Read A"Text': Textual And Contextual Approach
Its significance may be examined in many spheres ofhuman life. In court of law,
####### judges are
####### expected to pronounce their judgments as per the letter of law.
####### They may use their
####### discretion only where law is silent or its language is ambiguous.
In religion spheres, textual approach may impel us
to treat the ancient scriptures as
####### sacrosanct and thereby preserve certain unfair, unjust,
####### and irrational practices. This
attitude may in some cases promote
dogmatism, obscurantism and fundamentalism. It may
even involve justification of inhuman
practices like untouchability.
Was this document helpful?
A way to read textual and contextual approach
Course: political science hons
999+ Documents
Students shared 1058 documents in this course
University: Creighton University
Was this document helpful?
A Way To Read A "Text': Textual And Contextual Approach
Reading
a
text
is
an
essential
part
of
epistemology
i.e.
knowledge
creation.
The
kind
of
knowledge
that
is
created
and
even
what
is
counted
as
knowledge
itself
depends
upon
the
availability
of
texts.
A text
is
not merely printed words.
It
can
be
an
expression
of thoughts, not necessarily
always
in
printed words.
The
words
or the medium
of
expression speaks about the
creator
of
that knowledge.
The
liberal understanding
of
epistemology
is
problematic
as
there
is
an
understanding that
knowledge
can
be
created
by
an isolated, rational
and
objective individual. However,
it
fails
to
acknowledge
the
fact
that
ontology
is
a
stepping
stone
towards
epistemology.
The
knowledge
of
self affects any expression
as
it leaves
an
impression
on
what
we
seek
as
knowledge
and
what
we
create
as
knowledge.
So,
when
we
are studying political thinkers,
we
must understand
their
vantage
point
and what was
the
context
in
which the text was
produced
at
the
original
place.
Even
important
to
place
the reader and their vantage point
while
reading
or
re-reading
the
text.
It
becomes clear that a text has its own life
independent
of the creator and ideas
and
thoughts are the product of that thinker's time
as
well
as
that
of
the readers.
Why
certain
thoughts
are
prioritized
and
why
others are pushed to the periphery or
ignored, are
all
connected with the politics
of
text
and
context. There
is
a relevance of
those texts which
give
different meanings
in
different contexts.
It
is
the act of
interpretation
connects text and context.
Textual
Approach
It
is
a
perfect example
of
the
application
of
the
Hermeneutics
to
the
interpretation
of
classics.
It
implies
that
we
should
focus
on
the
language
of
the given text
to
understand
its
real
meaning.
It
primarily
based
on
a
belief
that the text
of
a classic contains the
expression
of
eternal truth.
So,
text should
not
be
treated
as
an occasional response
to
the
author's experiences
or
to
the
historical
or
sociological
circumstance
of
his
times.
More from:political science hons
More from:
political science hons
Creighton University
999+ Documents
- More from:political science honsCreighton University999+ Documents
