Finite Friction Hermeneutics: A Falsifiable Model of Interpretive Failure under Temporal Degradation

Abstract In this paper, I develop "Finite Friction Hermeneutics" (FFH) as a falsifiable model of interpretation under conditions of temporal degradation. My central claim is that interpretive activity is structurally constrained by multi-layered fields of resistance and must be evaluated not on the basis of "semantic completeness," but on the basis of failure conditions. This framework introduces three types of resistance: structural-semantic constraints, institutional-historical sedimentation, and model-dependent boundary failure. To avoid metaphysical inflation, I redefine resistance not as ontological domains, but as functional constraints within the interpretive model. I introduce the "Displacement Test" as a falsifiable heuristic for distinguishing historical constraints from model-dependent irreducibility. I also formulate the "Meta-Falsifiability Condition" to ensure that all core concepts remain subject to systematic revision. Within this framework, I define truth not as correspondence or coherence, but as a "stable yet revisable interpretive configuration under conditions of resistance." I test the model through an analysis of Kafka's Before the Law, focusing on failure conditions rather than semantic closure. Finally, I examine the implications of the model for epistemology, philosophy of science, and literary criticism. Keywords: Hermeneutics, Finite Friction, Interpretive Failure, Temporal Degradation, Resistance, Falsifiability, Truth, Kafka.