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Chapter 7 - Texts, Meanings, and Interpretation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 September 2021

René van Woudenberg
René van Woudenberg
Affiliation:
Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam
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Summary

The objects of reading (words, sentences, texts) are objects that have meaning. Meaning is a slippery notion, but we cannot do without it. This chapter distinguishes a number of different notions of meaning: word meaning, sentence meaning, author's meaning, indicative meaning, effect meaning, and value meaning. First, I suggest that knowledge of (these kinds of) meaning cannot be obtained through the natural sciences. Next, a general account of interpretation is offered according to which a statement is an interpretation of a text (or a part thereof) provided it is an attempt to specify the meaning(s) of the text (or its parts). It is furthermore argued that interpretative statements can be true and justified and, hence, that there are interpretative facts of the matter.

Keywords

MeaningAuthor’s MeaningInterpretationAuthorial Intentions
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The Epistemology of Reading and Interpretation , pp. 161 - 182
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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