Philosophical Thought

Rereading the Philosophical-Hermeneutical Challenges and Strategies of Human Agency in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Document Type : Original Research

Authors

F. Abdollahpour Sangchi 1
H. Rahnamaei 1
A. Asgari Yazdi 1
M. Rezaei 2

1 Department of Theoretical Foundations of Islam, Faculty of Islamic Thought and Education, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

2 Department of Islamic Philosophy and Theology, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies, University of Mazandaran, Babolasar, Iran

Abstract
The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence technologies, particularly large language models, has raised new questions in the domains of philosophy, hermeneutics, and human agency. At the epistemological level, the primary issue is the inability of AI systems to achieve “genuine hermeneutic understanding,” which is instead limited to the structural simulation of meaning, thereby risking a disconnection between meaning and truth. At the methodological level, the opacity and ambiguity of algorithmic mechanisms lead to a crisis of credibility and legitimacy in machine-generated interpretations. At the existential–ethical level, the potential threat to the human interpreter’s role and responsibility in the process of meaning-making comes to the fore. Based on this analysis, the article proposes theoretical, practical, and technological strategies to redefine and expand human hermeneutic agency in the age of artificial intelligence. It argues that a responsible and critical engagement with these technologies is not merely a technical necessity but a philosophical and ethical imperative—one that can redefine the relationship between humans, texts, and technology within the horizon of digital hermeneutics.

Keywords

Philosophical Hermeneutics
Artificial Intelligence
Human Agency
Understanding
Ethics of Technology
Subjects
Philosophical Thought
Volume 6, Issue 1
Winter 2026
Pages 41-60

  • Receive Date 22 April 2026
  • Publish Date 22 December 2025