A Short Introductory Essay (What is this blog about, anyway?)

What is a blog talking the band Rush and philosophical hermeneutics supposed to be about anyway? Let's explain hermeneutics first. Philosophical hermeneutics is a branch of philosophy that explores how we understand (intepret) the world around us. The world is rich with meaning and interpreting meaning is something we humans do every moment of the day. "Interpretation" in philosophy is not just another word for "opinion" as in "that is just your interpretation." Every encounter that we have with the world involves how we understand the encounter, what our relationship to it is, and how we respond. Hermeneutics (the art of interpretation) studies the conditions by which we understand the world. The time and place in which we are born, the language and customs of our culture, and previous experiences all form the lens or frame through which we understand the world. Because we are limited beings that cannot understand or experience everything, dialogue forms a necessary aspect of hermeneutics. Where my limit ends is the place from which I can connect and communicate with others to have my "horizons expanded" - that is, I can gain new understanding and insight through dialogue with others. Language and hermeneutics are two peas in a pod. Anytime we understand something, it is articulated in language. Through language we explain what we understand to others and even to explain things to ourselves! Now, here is the cool thing about hermeneutics. Anything we interpret (a work of art, a book, or even Rush song lyrics!) can have more than one legitimate meaning. Have you ever viewed a work of art with a friend and each of you get different things from it? Or perhaps you have gone back and revisit a book you read once before and see new things in familiar passages that had not occured to you before? Have you ever sent an email and the recipient of your email understood somethign entirely different than what you meant? This is a very important thing to understand about hermeneutics. An artist may paint a picture and have a particular idea in mind of what it means to them, but once it is out there it can take on meanings of its own beyond what the artist meant. Same with an author of a book. That doesn't mean just any interpretation can be imposed on something. One of the things about understanding is that there is always the possibility of misunderstanding. This is another reason why dialogue and communication are so important, because they help us work through our misunderstandings. But while we can misunderstand something, it does not mean that there is only one right understanding possible. And what we bring to things we interpret may give them meanings that are particular to our life experience. Okay, so what does hermeneutics have to do with Rush?! What I am doing in this blog is to take snippets of Rush lyrics and reflect on them. Interpret them. But what I am not claiming is that my reflections are the meaning, the one correct intepretation. And I definitely am not saying that what I write is what Neil meant by a line he wrote! What I will be doing is to explore possible meanings to Rush lyrics. Sometimes I might reflect on a current event or state of the world that a Rush song speaks to. In a nutshell, this blog is about understanding Rush lyrics from a hermeneutical perspective. Although I will mostly be looking at lyrics, I am open to all things Rush to seek to understand. And because hermeneutics is about dialogue, let me know what you think! Tell me if you like my take or if you disagree. Tell me what your understanding is of a lyric I reflect on. Always be respectful, even (especially) in disagreement. Let's have a dialogue together about the best band in the 'verse! Lastly, I dedicate this blog to the band, the memory of Neil Peart, and also to an absolutely fantastic human, the one and only Donna Halper, to whom we Rush fans owe so much.