Fogelin, Robert J. - Philosophical Interpretations

The essays that make up this volume - with only a few exceptions - offer readings of philosophical texts that depart, sometimes radically, from standard readings. Yet the principles of interpretation that underlie these essays are not themselves radical. Nothing is deconstructed. Nowhere have I argued that a philosopher's words should not be taken at face value. My principle of interpretation is just the reverse of this: granting the possibility of inadvertent slips, misleading modes of expression, and the like, I hold that there is a very strong presumption in favor of the claims that philosophers meant to say precisely what they did say and that what they did say means precisely what it seems to mean.