Cultural Life Translation Series · Interpretation and Over-interpretation

Author: [Italy] Umberto Eco
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-11-01
Features: A collection of debates between the renowned Italian novelist and semiotician Umberto Eco and the three distinguished scholars Richard Rorty, Jonathan Culler, and Steven Rose. It primarily explores the question of the finitude of interpretation. The interpretation of text meaning is the main work of the humanities and social sciences. However, are there boundaries to the interpretation of a text? Does the author's intention play a role in defining these boundaries? With his dual identity as both the creator and interpreter of works, the author's perspectives are particularly meaningful and enlightening. In the book, Eco proposes the concept of "intention of the work" to limit the infinitely rich possibilities of textual interpretation. Meanwhile, Rorty, Culler, and Rose each refute Eco from the perspectives of philosophy, literary theory, and literary criticism, respectively, and elaborate on their unique viewpoints. In this discussion, we can see the differences and confrontations between various theories of hermeneutics.