Radical Hermeneutics in Transformation of Modern Educational Thoughts

Abstract

This article examines how radical hermeneutics, as articulated by John D. Caputo, Gianni Vattimo, and Richard Rorty, can transform educational thought. Caputo’s notion of hermeneutics as a practice of radical openness, Vattimo’s “weak thought” and emphasis on interpretive pluralism, and Rorty’s pragmatist call to abandon metaphysical foundations collectively challenge education’s traditional reliance on stable truths and universal frameworks. Through qualitative method, from this perspective, knowledge, curriculum, and pedagogy are reconceived not as vehicles for transmitting certainty but as dialogical processes of ongoing interpretation. Embracing contingency and interpretive multiplicity, radical hermeneutics fosters educational spaces where uncertainty becomes a resource for creativity, ethical responsibility, and democratic engagement. In conclusion, by situating learning within a horizon of interpretive freedom and solidarity, this approach transforms education into a participatory project that resists closure and prepares learners to navigate the complexities and ambiguities of contemporary life.