Interpretation and the sciences of man

Abstract

The object of a science of interpretation must be describable in terms of sense and nonsense, coherence and its absence and must admit of a distinction between meaning and its expression. There is some reason to raise the issue and challenge the epistemological orientation which would rule interpretation out of the sciences of man. But in contrast to the incapacity of a science which remains within the accepted categories, a hermeneutical science of man which has a place for a study of intersubjective meaning can at least begin to explore fruitful avenues. In the sciences of man conceived as hermeneutical, the non-acceptance of a true or illuminating theory may come from neither of these, indeed is unlikely to be due to either of these, but rather from a failure to grasp the meaning field in question, an inability to make and understand readings of this field.

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