Hermeneutic decentering

Bibliographic Data

ID10344394
AuthorsC S Jenkins (University of British Columbia), Carrie Jenkins (0000-0002-9471-0470, University of British Columbia, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume75
Issue4
Pages1366-1387
Publication date2025-09-24
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Philosophical Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0031-8094 • E-ISSN: 1467-9213
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1093/pq/pqaf084
OpenAlexW4414451984
LanguageEN
References cited16

This paper identifies a phenomenon called hermeneutic dismissiveness, which it positions in relation to willful hermeneutical ignorance (Pohlhaus 2012), hermeneutical clashes (Falbo 2022), and ameliorative conceptual engineering (e.g. Haslanger 2000). It then develops a generalized version of Iris Murdoch's (1970) notion of unselfing, for which I use the term decentering: this involves decentering not just one's (individual) self but also the (collective) “we”s with which one identifies. Hermeneutic decentering is then discussed as a kind of work that might serve to counteract hermeneutic dismissiveness, through an application of what Murdoch calls “attention to reality inspired by, consisting of, love” (Murdoch 1969: 65). The paper concludes with a brief discussion of some of the obstacles to hermeneutic decentering, and reflections on how these might be addressed

Feminist Epistemology and Gender Studies · Political Philosophy and Ethics · Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics

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