Interpretation and Overinterpretation, Umberto Eco, Richard Rorty, Jonathan Culler, CHristine Brooke-Rose, 1992, Cambridge University Press, edited by Stefan Collini

“诠释与过度诠释”:: Notes, digests and thoughts.

“一千个人有一千个哈姆雷特” 是一种“读者反应批评¹” (Reader-response criticism / reader-oriented criticism)。我们能说每个人的哈姆雷特都是对的吗？如果白宝山说他的 罪行其实是出于自己对论语的理解，我们会觉得他读错书了。那么是否存在标准去评判哪些 读者是磕到了CP，哪些读者又是磕了蘑菇？

读者感受为上的反面是鼓吹阅读理解：咱看书就是得尽可能重现和理解作者的原本意图。 啊，这鱼眼闪烁着皈依的光 : 只有莎士比亚人认为的哈姆雷特才是真哈姆雷特！

I have suggested that between the intention of the author (very difficult to find out and frequently irrelevant for the interpret- ation of a text) and the intention of the interpreter who (to quote Richard Rorty) simply ‘beats the text into a shape which will serve for his purpose’, there is a third possibility. There is an intention of the text.

在 作者意图 (intention of the author) 和 诠释者意图 (intention of the interpreter) 之间也许存在第三个维度，即 “文本意图”（intention of text) ….. （你他妈的，文本是客体！客体哪来的意图！给我换个词，叫 “文本指向”好了。

• define “Meaning” and “(ir)rationalism”，modus P.26
• Latin language and strict logic P.28
• “infinity” and “out of order” P.29
• the “secret knowdge”, the truth and religions P.30
• interpretation is indefinite. P.32

But if books tell the truth, even when they contradict each other, then their each and every word must be an allusion, an allegory. They are saying something other than what they appear to be saying. Each one of them contains a message that none of them will ever be able to reveal alone. P.30

真理和隐喻

哈里发奥马尔说，这书我有两不看：跟古兰经说得一样的我不看，因为没必要；跟古兰经说 得不一样的我不看，因为亵渎真理²。

intro

The interpretation of the meaning of texts is the central activity of the humanities and social sciences. But are there limits to what a text can be made to mean? Are the author’s intentions relevant to establishing these limits? Should some readings be ruled out as ‘overinterpretations’?

This book brings together some of the most distinguished figures currently at work in philosophy and in literary theory and criticism. Three new pieces by Umberto Eco, leading semiotic theorist as well as internationally famous novelist, form the core of the book. Here, Eco develops his view of how the ‘intention of the work’ may set limits to possible interpret- ations. Then, from their different points of view, the philoso- pher Richard Rorty, the literary theorist Jonathan Culler, and the critic and novelist Christine Brooke-Rose challenge Eco’s argument and elaborate their own distinctive positions. The book concludes with Eco’s reply to his critics.

In a substantial introduction, Stefan Collini sets this debate in its historical and institutional context, and explores the ways in which fundamental human values are at stake. This accessible and often entertaining book makes a major contri- bution to the debate about textual meaning, and will be essential reading for all those interested in literary theory and in the wider issues raised by the question of interpretation.

Content:

• Intro: Interpretation terminable and interminable (Stefan Collini)
• Interpretation and history (Eco)
• Overinterpreting texts (Eco)
• Between author and text (Eco)
• The pragmatist’s progress (Richard Rorty)
• In defence of overinterpretation (Johnathan Culler)
• Palimpsest history (Christine Brooke-Rose)
• Reply (Eco)

bullets of interest

• Geisteswissenschaften (spirit science) by Dilthe
• irrationalism: 非理性主义是19世纪初兴起的一種思潮，非理性主义强调人类生活中的 非理性层面。非理性主义者並不強調逻辑，他们认为本能和感觉优于理智，而且某些事物 並不能在理性層面解決。wiki

Quotes

Unfortunately, the whole history of Western philosophy serves to prove that such a definition is rather controversial. Any way of thinking is always seen as irrational by the historical model of another way of thinking, which views itself as rational. Aristotle’s logic is not the same as Hegel’s; Ratio, Ragione, Raison, Reason and Vernunft do not mean the same thing. (P.26)

Context

赫耳墨斯 (Hermes)

Hermes (/ˈhɜːrmiːz/; Greek: Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology considered the herald of the gods. He is also widely considered the protector of human heralds, travelers, thieves, merchants, and orators. He is able to move quickly and freely between the worlds of the mortal and the divine aided by his winged sandals. Hermes plays the role of the psychopomp or “soul guide”—a conductor of souls into the afterlife. wiki