Scholastic Literary Theory
Intentionalism and the Desire for Stable Sense
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12448645 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Alastair Minnis (0009-0008-9699-7453, Yale University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 53 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 467-492 |
| Publication date | 2023-09-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1082-9636 • E-ISSN: 1527-8263 |
| Publisher | Duke University Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1215/10829636-10689617 |
| OpenAlex | W4386885283 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
Scholastic intentionalism was a complicated and hardly consistent affair. Theologians sought security of meaning in the principle that a biblical author's intention could be found in the literal sense of his text. But the ultimate author of scripture, God, could have inscribed truths that transcended the intentions of inspired but merely human authors. Perhaps a text's intention was not curtailed by the temporal and historical circumstances of its composition? Further, scholastic debate rested on the assumption that truth emerges through vigorous confrontation. In practice, quotations were plucked from the full contexts that secured their meaning and conveyed authorial intention; those isolated excerpts were themselves treated as having sufficient authority to advance arguments. This history is related to present-day controversy about how the American Constitution (that modern authoritative text par excellence) should be implemented. There are striking parallels and intersections between scholastic literary theory and the “originalist” theory of constitutional interpretation; they share a common language of intentionalism, along with difficulties of interpretation
Art · Constitution · Epistemology · Explication · Interpretation (philosophy · Linguistics · Literature · Meaning (existential · Originalism · Parallels · Sociology · American Constitutional Law and Politics · Law · Philosophy
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |