Abstract. In a period of rapid development in natural sciences, the widespread digitalization of all
spheres of public life, and the practically limitless possibilities of artificial intelligence, there has been a
resurgence of interest in psychological hermeneutics. This field emphasizes the profound meanings of human
existence and the values of collective being. The purpose of this article is to clarify the contribution of
philosophical research in the humanities to the development of psychological hermeneutics as a descriptive
(phenomenological) methodology in psychology. We utilize a cultural-historical analysis of key ideas in
philosophical hermeneutics, viewing it as the broad epistemological landscape upon which the subject of
psychological hermeneutics itself emerged. The article substantiates a key thesis: psychology, which considers
the human being as a total unity of body, soul, and spirit, cannot reduce the subject of its research to finding
answers to the question “Why?” (causal determinism). Instead, it must uncover the meanings of human
existence by answering the question “What for?” (teleological determinism). The history of psychology's
development as an independent science confirms that only a mutual complementation of both epistemological
traditions will help obtain knowledge congenial to human nature. The achievements of philosophical thought
from the previous two centuries and the beginning of the 21st century have laid the foundation for the
development of psychological hermeneutics itself – the science of finding meanings in diverse textrepresentations of human being-existence. The cognitive mechanisms for comprehending personal meanings and societal values in various cultural artifacts are intuitive understanding (empathy) and evaluative interpretation (reflection) of the direct experience of the dynamic structure of life realization.
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