Interpretation and Over-Interpretation (Second Edition)

Author: (Italian) Umberto Eco et al.
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, is there a boundary to the interpretation of a text? Does the author's intention play a role in defining this boundary? With his dual identity as both the creator and interpreter of works, the arguments Eco proposes are particularly meaningful and enlightening. In the book, he introduces the concept of "work intention" to limit the infinitely rich possibilities of textual interpretation. Meanwhile, Rorty, Culler, and Rose counter Eco's arguments from the perspectives of philosophy, literary theory, and literary criticism, respectively, and elaborate on their unique viewpoints. In this discussion, we can observe the differences and confrontations among various theories of hermeneutics.