ABSTRACT
Despite evident and known divergences, humanities can rank their interpretations and aspire to guide the interpretations of society, the chapter contends. Three alternative methods can be used so as to test interpretive hypotheses, depending on whether the author’s, the reader’s, or the text’s meaningful intentionality is primarily investigated. The third method is superior to the first two since it leads to the creation of a common meta-discursive space for intersubjective exchange about meaning. Although adopting an appropriate methodology is essential in textual analysis, that which is even more important is supporting the creation of a community of interpreters that, sharing the same method, engage in the constructive comparison and ranking of interpretive moves.
