Truth and Power—On the Importance of an Action Theory-Based Power Theory for Intercultural Hermeneutics

The topic of “intercultural hermeneutics” has gained increasing attention since the 1990s. In the German-speaking world, missiologist and scholar of religion Theo Sundermeier (b. 1935) called for a “hermeneutics of difference” in his book “Den Fremden verstehen” (1996). The present article outlines key concepts of Sundermeier’s approach but identifies a significant gap regarding the theory of power. While a theory of power is absent from Sundermeier’s hermeneutics, the author has developed intercultural hermeneutics as “discourse semiotics”, which he further elaborates in this essay. The author argues that Michel Foucault’s theory of power—specifically its emphasis on the diffuse nature of power—has led to the introduction of stereotypes within various postcolonial studies approaches (like Edward Said in his book Orientalism); the assertion of “Othering” has, in effect, made understanding the “stranger” nearly impossible. Drawing on the work of Herbert Paul Grice and James S. Coleman, the article calls for a theory of power grounded in action theory and illustrates the significance of this approach through an example. The thesis is that a theory of power grounded in action theory is required as a basis for an intercultural and interreligious hermeneutics in order to falsify and avoid postcolonial stereotyping.