Abstract: Since Kroes, a Dutch scholar, put forward the problem of “logical gap” between the structure and function of technological artifacts, scholars have tried to bridge the gap from the perspectives of logical relationship, epistemology and ontology, but have failed to establish the causal relationship between the structure and function of technological artifacts. According to Heideggers idea that understanding and existence are the same, humans, as intermediate carriers where structure and function point to each other, are indispensable. Therefore, the structurefunction of technological artifacts is a hermeneutic relationship. The complete connotation of hermeneutics should be unified by interpretation, application and explanation. Based on the connotation of hermeneutics, this paper reveals the interpretation process between the structure and function of technological artifacts. To bridge the “logical gap” between the structure and function of technological artifacts, a new perspective is proposed.

Key words: technological artifacts; structure; function; hermeneutics; causality