 Contemporary hermeneutics is demarcated from the modern historical origins of hermeneutics by the influence of a new use Heidegger makes of hermeneutics in his early phenomenological inquiries into human existence. In turn, contemporary hermeneutics remains largely shaped by Hans-Georg Gadamer’s ‘philosophical hermeneutics,’ which he describes as an attempt further to develop and expand on Heidegger’s influential breakthrough. Contemporary hermeneutics also receives contour from Paul Ricoeur’s contributions to hermeneutics, from philosophical controversies with critical theory and deconstruction, and from the emergence of postmodern hermeneutics. Further developments include innovations in hermeneutics made by some philosophers in the Anglo-American tradition and the development of hermeneutics in ethical and political philosophy. Most recently, further developments include a renewal of interest in normative dimensions of interpretive experience, and responses in hermeneutics to a recent rise of interest in realism.