Abstract

E.D. Hirsch, Jr. responds to the subjective relativism of Hans-Georg Gadamer and the abstract formalism of representatives of the New Criticism. Hirsch maintains a distinction between "meaning" and "significance" in order to uphold the objectivity of the text, while preserving the relevance of the author's intention for interpretation. ;The purpose of the dissertation is to provide a critical evaluation of Hirsch's hermeneutical model and to propose the possible relevance of the model for religious studies. Hirsch's Validity in Interpretation and The Aims of Interpretation are the basic sources for the paper. Other primary sources include those by Gadamer and various New Critics. ;Chapters one and two are a reconstruction of Hirsch's model of meaning and significance. The text is the interpreter's primary clue to what the author intended to communicate. An author may share meaning with a reader, who in turn is able to reproduce that meaning, given a common cultural-linguistic framework. ;The text's meaning is determinate. Nevertheless, the implications of the original author's meaning may not be realized until later. The author does not have control over these implications. The significance of textual meaning may vary with the reader's experience and need. ;Chapter three is an evaluation of the model in comparison to recent hermeneutical perspectives. Hirsch proposes various principles for the testing of critical criteria, as well as suggesting a logic of validation whereby a community of scholars may verify methods and evaluate interpretive hypotheses. Far from advocating a return to psychologism or a wooden historico-grammatical approach, Hirsch gives serious attention to the tenets indicated by a modern reader-response criticism. ;In chapter four the interpreter seeks to apply Hirsch's model creatively to a literary evaluation of the Book of Revelation. The results of this evaluation are explored in several areas of theological relevance. ;Hirsch reaffirms the objectivity of the text in terms of its historical-linguistic foundation. Yet, he remains open to the emphases of a reader-response criticism. Hirsch's model serves as a corrective to excessive relativism in religious studies and to biblical formalism