The dissertation is devoted to the study of such a postmodern hermeneutic problem as “loss of meaning” and its impact on modern Christianity. This refers to the radical changes that have taken place in the postmodern hermeneutic literature regarding such a key concept as meaning.
The object of research is postmodern philosophical hermeneutics and Christian hermeneutics in their connection, and the subject is the problem of “loss of meaning” of the text in Christian hermeneutics under the influence of postmodern philosophical hermeneutics.
In the dissertation for the first time the hypothesis of historical “reincarnation of meaning” as radicalization of the generally accepted attitude to the historical “evolution of meaning” (complicated hermeneutic variant of desemantization) is put forward. This means that over time, the meaning can change so radically that the new meaning loses connection with the original, and sometimes even between them emerges contradiction. In this way, the meaning reincarnates and loses all connection with its historical predecessors.
The theory of hermeneutic sets as the main reason for the forced restriction of the development of interpretations (especially in religious hermeneutic communities) is created and substantiated.
It is suggested to consider the author's idea not as a criterion of all other interpretations, and the disclosure of the author's meaning not as a goal to be pursued in the process of interpretation, but as one of the variants of meaning that is not the literal meaning of the text. This proposal is justified by the fact that the author is the same participant in language activities as readers. In the postmodern approach, the center of hermeneutic activity is language and its structures, not the author. Thus, the author chooses from the ambiguity of words and expressions meanings those he wants to include in his text, but readers can choose other meanings of that words and expressions, and therefore for them the text will mean something else. In this approach, the author is removed from the throne of the master of meaning and gets off to the same level as interpreters, and instead of the author, the language in its ambiguity sits on the throne.
It is clarified that the vagueness of hermeneutic methods is not a threat to the complete relativization of hermeneutics and does not interfere, but helps hermeneutics in solving relevant problems.
It was found that pragmatism is the closest and most adequate solution to the problem of multiple interpretations. In a situation where each interpretation is fighting for its “place under the sun”, when there is no general consensus on the “correctness” of the method, there is only one suitable system of interpretation, based on relevance and usefulness of current interpretation for the current state of affairs in a community, culture etc. This applies both to the religious discourse of individual communities or the common beliefs of Christians of all denominations, and to scientific discourses in their historical context of existence.
The results obtained in the research process fill some gaps in the study of the influence of postmodern hermeneutics on modern Christian hermeneutic strategies, create a platform for further study of approaches and methods that modern Christian hermeneutics can use to achieve its goals without losing its basic qualities. The narrative, metaphorical and pragmatic forms of perception of Christian texts proposed in the dissertation, placed in the context of postmodernism, help to better adapt interpretations that look too grotesque in modern philosophical conditions.
The research materials can be used in the teaching of religious studies, theological and philosophical hermeneutics in secular and confessional educational institutions. They can also be used in the direct interpretive practice of researchers.
