Up to this historical period, hermeneutics had developed blindly without an awareness of its theoretical value. Practical interests stood in the foreground by those who thought about the problems associated with it. Hermeneutics had to turn toward epistemological issues, seeing signs not only as an object, but also as a concept. In this chapter, Shpet traces the development of hermeneutics through a host of early figures including Llull, Locke, Campbell, Reid, and Monboddo.