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Dear murugappan,

You have asked me to define ontology.  The term literally means “the study of what exists?”.

I am giving you the definition given by Stanford university philosophy department definition of ontology here,

“As a first approximation, ontology is the study of what there is. Some contest this formulation of what ontology is, so it's only a first approximation. Many classical philosophical problems are problems in ontology: the question whether or not there is a god, or the problem of the existence of universals, etc. These are all problems in ontology in the sense that they deal with whether or not a certain thing, or more broadly entity, exists. But also ontology is usually  taken to encompass problems about the most general features and relations of the entities which do exist. There are also a number of classic philosophical problems that are problems in ontology understood this way.”

Then you asked me to define hermeneutics.

 It is generally means the exploration of hidden meanings in the religious texts. Originally started with biblical interpretation (exegesis). Howevr it is extended to other areas of texts including general literature as well.

I am giving you below the Stanford university description of the same,

“The term hermeneutics covers both the first order art and the second order theory of understanding and interpretation of linguistic and non-linguistic expressions. As a theory of interpretation, the hermeneutic tradition stretches all the way back to ancient Greek philosophy. In the course of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, hermeneutics emerges as a crucial branch of Biblical studies. Later on, it comes to include the study of ancient and classic cultures.

With the emergence of German romanticism and idealism the status of hermeneutics changes. Hermeneutics turns philosophical. It is no longer conceived as a methodological or didactic aid for other disciplines, but turns to the conditions of possibility for symbolic communication as such. The question “How to read?” is replaced by the question, “How do we communicate at all?” Without such a shift, initiated by Friedrich Schleiermacher, Wilhelm Dilthey, and others, it is impossible to envisage the ontological turn in hermeneutics that, in the mid-1920s, was triggered by Martin Heidegger's Sein und Zeit and carried on by his student Hans-Georg Gadamer.

Now hermeneutics is not only about symbolic communication. Its area is even more fundamental: that of human life and existence as such. It is in this form, as an interrogation into the deepest conditions for symbolic interaction and culture in general, that hermeneutics has provided the critical horizon for many of the most intriguing discussions of contemporary philosophy, both within an Anglo-American context (Rorty, McDowell, Davidson) and within a more Continental discourse (Habermas, Apel, Ricoeur, and Derrida)”.

For example taking things too literally in a religious text in sacred Bible,

“if your right eye causes you to sin, pluck out and cast it from you” Mathew 5:29 .

This is obviously should not be taken literally and the meaning would be “not to commit sin even to the extent of extreme suffering or even at extreme pain one should avoid sin”. “Reading into the text  and over allegorizing” are often ways that  lead to  the wrong  meaning of the text. This way of “grammato-historical hermeneutics” prevents the misinterpretation and makes us the follow the text with real intent it is based on.

I have given a very brief introduction now and go through them in detail in the next letter. I hope you further your understanding of these themes by going through the Stanford university philosophy encyclopedia and internet encyclopedia of philosophy(www.iep.utm.edu).

Affectionately

Gandhibabu