Contradictions of Archaeological Theory by Wallace Sandra

Author:Wallace, Sandra
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor & Francis (CAM)
Published: 2011-03-14T16:00:00+00:00

Contextual archaeology, hermeneutics and the conflation of subject and object

The manifestations of the inherent logical contradictions in hermeneutic theory are slightly different to those of processualism. Hermeneutic theory purports to be a philosophical reaction against the scientific model of Humean causality, as discussed in Chapter 3. The anti-naturalist reaction prioritised subjective meaning in interpretation, a corollary being the fundamental conflation of subject and object in hermeneutics. The object became a function of the subject’s interpretation, as it did not exist as a meaningful entity apart from that interpretation. Thomas notes that:

Dilthey’s claim that hermeneutics should provide the basis for a methodology for the human sciences that would be quite distinct from that of natural science rests on the belief that human beings and their actions require interpretation because they are meaningful. In other words, the physical world is meaningless, and human beings bring meaning into the world: effectively a reiteration of the Cartesian position.

(Thomas 2004: 156)

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