Intention & Interpretation [Paperback]

Gary Iseminger (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 24, 1995

'What is the connection, if any, between the author's intentions in (while) writing a work of literature and the truth (acceptability, validity) of interpretive statements about it?' With this question, Gary Isminger introduces a literary debate that has been waged for the past four decades and is addressed by philosophers and literary theorists in Intention and Interpretation. Thirteen essays discuss the role of appeals to the author's intention in interpreting works of literature. A well-known argument by E.D. Hirsch serves as the basic text, in which he defends the appeal to the author's intention against Wimsatt and Beardsley's claim that such an appeal involved 'the intentional fallacy'. The essays, mostly commissioned by the editor, explore the presuppositions and consequences of arguing for the importance of the author's intentions in the way Hirsch does. Connections emerge between this issue and many fundamental issues in metaphysics and the philosophy of mind as well as in aesthetics. The (old) 'New Criticism' and current Post-Structuralism tend to agree in disenfranchising the author, and many people now are disinclined even to consider the alternative. Hirsch demurs, and arguments like his deserve the careful attention, both from critics and sympathizers, that they receive here. Literary scholars and philosophers who are sympathetic to Continental as well as to Anglo-American styles of philosophy are among the contributors. Author note: Gary Iseminger, William H. Laird Professor of Philosophy and the Liberal Arts at Carleton College, has published several other books and many articles in leading philosophical periodicals. He is on the editorial board of the "Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism" and the board of officers of the American Philosophical Association.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...an excellent and comprehensive discussion of a debate that was initiated in this century in William Wimsatt's and Monroe C. Beardsley's influential article 'The Intentional Fallacy.'...this is a splendidly conceived and very useful collection of essays. Readers will want to take issue with the arguments of individual authors, but this is to be expected in a volume at the cutting edge of a fertile philosophical controversy."
—David Novitz, The Philosophical Quarterly

"This is a timely book appearing as it does when postmodernist views of the death of the author are disappearing quickly from the scene. As a collection it exemplifies the best work that is being done on this problem at the moment, and it will no doubt inspire further debate."
—The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism

"[T]his volume contains important articles illuminating the central debate over the role and relevance of authorial intentions in literary interoperation."
—British Journal of Aesthetics

About the Author

Gary Iseminger, William H. Laird Professor of Philosophy and the Liberal Arts at Carleton College, has published several other books and many articles in leading philosophical periodicals. He is on the editorial board of the Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism and the board of officers of the American Philosophical Association.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Temple University Press (January 24, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566393469
• ISBN-13: 978-1566393461
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #441,328 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Good argument against the Intentional Fallacy notion, December 21, 2008

By 

Michael A Neulander "Political Philosophy" (VA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Intention & Interpretation (Paperback)

I read this book for a graduate seminar on the philosophy of art. An interesting facet of literature is how fiction is intentionally used by an author to introduce and argue non-fictional ideas and theories. This case in point is examined by Noël Carroll in his article "Art, Intention, and Conversation in Intention and Interpretation," by Gary Iseminger. Carroll astutely argues that if the "intentional fallacy" argument rests on the premise that "all literature is fictional," then this notion is problematic. Carroll observes that there are plenty of non-fictional passages in fictional books that authors insert to espouse philosophical or scientific theories, and that fiction is sometimes used as a "vehicle" to carry these ideas to the reader that they would ordinarily have a hard time getting out into the public in a "dry" treatise. Good examples of this notion are the novels written by Ayn Rand. Rand intentionally used several of her novels such as, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, both popular works of fiction, to espouse her libertarian philosophical theory of "objectivism." In addition, Carroll understands the interests that readers have, namely the "conversational interests" they have in "communion" with or "communicating" with the author through reading the text. Carroll wisely perceives that readers have a conversational interest in literature; a conversation of wanting to understand what the author is communicating. Thus, Carroll correctly argues, "We want to understand the author, even if that will lead to rejecting his or her point of view."

I recommend this work for anyone interested in philosophy, philosophy of art, and textual criticism.