... A second answer. # 1. Question Restatement: > Is it possible to "bracket" your bias during interpretation, enabling you to essentially approach the text in an "unbiased" manner, despite the bias that is technically present? ---------- # 2. Answer - Attempting to Avoiding Bias leads to an Automation Bias: As a "thought experiment": can a computational, philological, computing system be created that can interpret *any* text - let alone a Biblical text - without any bias, (even Confirmation Bias)? > **[Confirmation Bias, Wikipedia Article][1]**: the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way ***that confirms one's preexisting beliefs or hypotheses***. It is ***a type of cognitive bias*** and a systematic error of inductive reasoning. Human [cognition, by definition][2], necessarily requires an act of associating an inquiry with prior experience and knowledge, (also see [constructivism][3] theory). This means that any absence of experience, or knowledge, will always cause that examination to be biased - towards previous experiences, and attained knowledge - notwithstanding "divine revelation" and "[noetics][4]". Even when modeling artificial intelligence, some form of [cognitive bias][5] is always present - and some biases are necessary conditions for learning. Specifically, if one were to go to the extreme, to try to "bracket" all possible biases, (perhaps to the extent of using a computer simulation) - it would still, necessarily, lead to an "automation / computation bias". > **[Automation Bias][6]:** The tendency to depend excessively on automated systems which can lead to erroneous automated information overriding correct decisions. > **Bracketing Bias:** The tendency to depend excessively on unbiased, computated, conclusions which can lead to erroneous inferences overriding correct conclusions, *(yep, just made this up; apropos, the existence of "God" is a perfect example of this - another discussion)*. ***In other words, it is impossible to avoid all biases, and therefore necessary to determine which forms of biases are actually valued in Biblical hermeneutics,*** (a computational / deductive bias is certainly not one of them). [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognition [3]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructivism_(philosophy_of_education) [4]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noetics [5]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cognitive_biases [6]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automation_bias