Ideology And The Hermeneutic Circle

Ideology and the Hermeneutic Circle By Anthony J. Fejfar, B.A., J.D., Esq., Coif © Copyright 2009 by Anthony J. Fejfar If one follows Gadamer’s Hermeneutic Approach to epistemology, it is apparent that if one does Hermeneutics or Meaning at Level 2, in consciousness, then the problem of the Hermeneutic Circle or Analytic Spin (Spann) developes. Recall, that the first 3 Levels of Consciousness are: 1. Experience (Body Mind), 2.

Understanding (Soul/Analytic Mind), and

3.

Intuitive Judgment/Reflection (Spirit/Intellectual Mind). Now, if a person tries to know reality at Level 1, then what developes is a naïve

realist or naïve empiricist or logical positivist mind. If one tries to know reality at Level 2, then what developes is an Idealist Mind. For the Idealist Mind, the highest level of reality is simply ideas, and, there really are no transcendent ideas. Because ideas apparently cannot be transcended, all that is left is a fairly arbitrary set of ideas which become “Core” ideas which are not subject to critique without a type of Idealist Conversion to another set of Core ideas. This, then, is the ideological stage of development. What happens is that there is simply one set of irrational Core Ideological Beliefs which can only be replaced by an irrational conversion to another set of irrational ideological beliefs.

If one attempts to transcend ideology at this level, all

that happens is a Circular Argument (Hermeneutic Circle) or Analytic Spin. In fact, if you push hard enough at this level it can result in Aperspectival Insanity (Wilber). The

ideologue is of course threatened by this and can act very irrationally in defense of his or her ideological beliefs. Now, the solution to the Ideological Problem of level 2, is to transcend Level 2 and go to Level 3, where analytic ideas are transcended, not by more ideas, but by the cognitive capability of Intuitive Judgment and Reflection. When Level 3 is reached, ideology can be transcended and critiqued by reason, so that a rational set of ideological beliefs is developed, which, really turn out to be objective beliefs or ideas, and no longer simplist ideology.