The Literal Sense: A Prefatory Postscript

Jon Whitman*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Is there a “basic” meaning to a text? Or is every text ambiguous from the start? Insofar as a foundational work may be considered to be multivalent in meaning, by what principles do interpreters assess its “literal” sense? How broadly do they construe its scope — and what are the conceptual and historical implications of such perspectives? From antiquity to modernity, far-reaching changes in approach to literality are not just efforts to “figure out” words. Aiming to formulate relationships between words and events, they are efforts to figure out the world.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)211-237
Number of pages27
JournalPartial Answers
Volume22
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 Johns Hopkins University Press.

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