The content of law depends on the understanding of its provisions. Interpreter of the law texts is sometimes in front of the dilemmas that a specific word contained in the mentioned text should be understood as the universal language, or as it is understood in the language of specialist law practitioners, e.g. technical (law) meaning. Technical meaning of some word sometimes vary then that word has in common. Proper choice between universal meaning and special meaning of some word might be a serious challenge for an interpreter, e.g. judge in tax case. The literature in the field of tax law often expressed view that in determining the meaning of the expressions of a legal text in the case of the difference should be rather preferred meanings from legal language than universal one. The main argument for this concept is the use of the existing acquis of legal doctrine and/or judiciary leads to achieve greater uniformity and consistency in judicial decisions. The article formulates important caveat to this approach, particularly as far as the guarantee function of the law is concerned. The taxpayer is not obliged to know neither doctrinal nor judicial review and language used. In addition, some interpretive misconceptions surprisingly often gain unequivocal applause of the courts, which suggests the existence of the required uniformity of view in understanding a particular word legal text contained.
Basing upon the Anna Burzynska's book 'Anty-teoria literatury' (Anti-theory of literature), Cracow, 2006, the author discusses propositions and/or suggestions (pro)posed by post-modern thought against literary studies. Or, more strictly speaking: what should a literary scholar do, in case s/he would try to 'make post-modern' (so to speak) his/her earlier-established views in three areas: poetics, literary theory, and, interpretation? One may sense that the theory interpretation, having been through a long journey through the stormy fluctuations of post-modernity, is now stealthily resuming a solid ground that has been disparaged until recently. This is, namely, a philological-hermeneutic ground, softened to a slight extent by intensified attentiveness toward whatever may be non-systemic or inconsistent in a given text.
The article is a peculiar 'record of interpretative failures' in analysis of Czeslaw Milosz's 'Traktat moralny' (The Moral Treaty). The author points out to some details of the poem proving extremely hard to interpret, and makes an attempt at explaining them, supporting himself to this end by Milosz's own commentaries to the text, which he has found in the poet's letters to the philosopher Tadeusz Kronski and in his recorded conversations with Renata Gorczynska, and, with Aleksander Fiut and Andrzej Franaszek. The author's indication of certain unclear points and instances of contradictoriness in the Treaty's text offers a specific incentive for the reader to focus not only on what the text can offer them but also, on what is apparently incomprehensible in it.
This text is yet another attempt at taking up the immortal question reappearing seasonally in university or college seminars in humanities: Can interpretation be scientific? Can an act of interpreting, understood as responding to the call and meeting the challenge posed by a text (or, by 'texts', in a broad semiotic meaning), aspire to be termed 'scientific', as per the customary explanation of the term? If, namely, there is always someone's subjectivity behind an interpretative gesture, whereas striving for objectivity - or, inter-subjective communicability - is part of the essence of science, then, is it not so that the notion of 'scientific interpretation' proves to be a classical example for quadrature of the circle? The author also attempts at responding the question of why science - understood for the purpose as codified rules of a methodological game - is so much afraid of interpretative subjectivity, and, at the end of the day, why it strives so insistently for taming any interpretative passion.
This article is an expression and an attempt to justify the belief that hermeneutic philosophy is an interpretation of the rationality’s concept. Although hermeneutics itself is a critique of a certain form of rationalism, and therefore falls under charges “irrationality”, the concept of reason is an essential component of its identity as a philosophy.
A well-known novel Doctor Faustus written by Thomas Mann is situated in social and artistic environment of first half of the 20th century. It primarily concentrates on the particularity of the development of musical medium and inspires to rich reflections. The author of the paper tries to summarize, compare and closely specify opinions of Slovak music theorists, aestheticians and composers. One of first thinkers who introduced the nature of Mann’s novel as mirrored by its era was Ján Albrecht. Rudolf Brejka aimed to concentrate on description of the essence of artistic portrayal of presented problem. He drew attention to the fact that twelve-tone technique in this work of art is different from thinking and work of Schönberg. Vladimír Fulka dealt with a summarization of frequency of quotes and influence of Adorno’s texts on the diction of passages in the novel connected with problems of music. Vladimír Godár contributed to discussion about importance and contents of the novel by a detailed summary of all poetic inspirations which were used in the fictitious work of protagonist of the novel – composer Adrian Leverkün – and were really set to music by other composers. Last but not least, Juraj Hatrík presented stigmatisation of symbolic of evil in Alfred Schnittke’s cantata, directly related to Mann’s description of fictitious works. At the same time he pointed out connections of Thomas Mann’s Doctor Faustus in relation to another work of a German author – novel The Glass Bead Game by Hermann Hesse. In the last part the author thinks about cultural and social-political climate and dispositions of composed music in Slovakia thanks to which composition principles of Second Viennese School have not been fully expressed.
The article deals with two approaches to constructing a historical narrative: that of Hayden White, who considers historical narratives to be narrative interpretations. He argues that the plurality of historical narratives arises from the plurality of narrative forms used in the representations of the past. For M. Mandelbaum, N. Carroll and D. Carr on the other side the historical representation of the past is a sort of map or copy of reality. According to the author, both conceptions face the problem of selecting those historical narratives, which would not provoke objections on the side of historians. He argues that constructing a historical narrative associates necessarily with different interpretations of sources as well as different representations of the past.
This reflection is a short summary of reading and partly of a work experience with the texts devoted to Slovak literature. They come approximately from the half of the last century. This experience points the title of formulated thesis. Writing about poetry was particularly focused on older personalized line (empathic or critically distant), and stressing more evocation of the work, dealing with the character of an author and methodically progressing a structural line. Inspirational confrontation with transformation in poetry that happened in the end of the 50s and the 60s evolved several interpretational initiatives concentrated on semantically complicated contemporary poetic texts. Fiction, modernized in all transformations, would more correspond with all articulated constituted 'worlds' than contemporary poetry with intermediate self-understanding of society, with its official or alternative explanation and with the 'world' opening explosiveness, contemplativeness, fragmentariness, etc. Analogies of narrative fiction and historiography interpretation could help in a less conflicted transposed fiction in treating history of literature. An experience that makes rather problematic usual work with literature of a strong poetry sort can serve as a reminder: history is not only stated by 'subsequence' and 'similarity' of facts (in all methodological travesties still always by Comte's provenience), but it has non spectacular dimension 'in actu' evolving semantic ruptures, explosions, epiphanies, illuminations, or catastrophes.
Referring to a passage from Blanchot's novel 'Thomas l'Obscure', the paper questions the clear contours between literature and philosophy as disciplines. The point where the clear distinction breaks down is the phenomenon of reading. In a decisive moment of each authentic reading the author tries to introduce a 'phenomenology of reading', in which we ourselves as readers are being transformed to the ones who are read. Light, truth, clarity - all these are notions, which are opposed in Blanchot by passivity, night, and absence. Underlined in particular is the absence of meaning, of any light in perpetuated occidental theoretical discourse, which is nothing more than one's apology of oneself. Not to betray Blanchot means to abandon pure commentaries of his philosophy and to find another ways of its interpretation. Thus the questions of reading, interpretation, and translation might become the questions of life and death. To articulate this alternative approach is one of the aims of the paper.
The author asserts that it is necessary to create new interpretations of the literary texts. These interpretations (chiefly so called 'generational') do not lead to any final or complete interpretation of the literary works but, nevertheless, they conform the best to the needs of the particular historical context. Interpretation is an application. It is the impossibility and undesirability of the only and unique interpretation (unique result) that creates the difference between the literary scholarship and the exact sciences, where, on the contrary, one result is desirable. The results of the interpretative sciences are instrumental for discussion and fundamentally influence the whole social and historical process, and prepare new tendencies and new epochs.
Re-reading Plato's Ion as the first text in the hermeneutics tradition, the author finds two main streams. The first, based on reflection (rationality, logic, knowledge) stems from Socrates; the second, consisting in an affective approach (myth, art), stems from Ion. Both Socrates and Ion delimit this field of hermeneutics (legein peri or 'speaking about') staying beyond its frontiers. Next, the author exploits the Socrates: Ion binary in order to interpret some key figures, trends, and schools within the whole tradition (rabbis, St Augustine, Pietism, Schleiermacher, Nietzsche, Dilthey, explication de texte, Heidegger, Gadamer, Peter Szondi, the Nitra School, and Ricoeur). Writers tend towards either the Socratic (explication de texte) or Ionic wing (Nietzsche). There are, however, also writers who attempted to find the middle ground, a position offering both reflexion and intuition (Schleiermacher, Gadamer, and Ricoeur). The author concludes that the main challenge issuing from his interpretation is to remain close to a text, and resist any temptation to go beyond it.
The paper analyses mutual relationships between three processes from the title on the example of three paintings by Slovak painter Rastislav Podoba. The analysis of the painting Observation from 2011 leads to the need for a deeper examination of the character of relations between observation, painting, and interpretation. The central problem is the problem of observation which leads to questioning the place and the role of theoretical reflection in the creation, experience, and perception of the work of art. The standard philosophical approach to interpreting as an ascription of meaning is questioned. Finally, the paper proposes a different approach to interpretation that could better explain running processes in analysed works.
The aim of the essay is reflecting of the development of the concept of 'interpretation' in philosophy, in the theater and in the translation. Contemporary exaggerated use of the concept of the interpretation is derived from the hermeneutic tradition in the philosophy, that had introduced infinite and unlimited interpretation and had abolished 'the contradiction'. The essay is dedicated to this question because the contemporaneous level of the work in the theater, radio and in the translation is a reflection of the unlimited interpretation. In this meaning of the interpretation it is transferred the wish of infinity and the wish to transfer into the text of another author our own ideas. This situation is supported from the insufficient preparation in the cultural and historic context of the work (text), what gives to the interpreters the possibility to not respect the intentions of the text and the author.
The article is a part of a discussion about the meaning of logic in the area of law. The authors treating in a polemic way some common ideas and connotation of the term „legal logic“ – according to them there is a difference between a logic in a formal meaning, dealing with the structure of the nature language and methodology. In a situations, where formal logic seems to be insufficient to provide a solution of problems with the interpretation and/or application, correct methodology is only able to solve such problem. The authors of the outlined purposes briefly explicate core concepts, such as the normative system (as a set of relatively closed binding rules as defined segment of social relations), paying particular attention to the law system, further interpretative rules and methods (with interpretation, in general, is explaining the connection between the facts (actions) or the interpretation or clarification of the meaning of a particular text), logical consistency and inconsistency (a condition where the set of rules may or may not also draw the assertion and also a negation of this assertion). Inconsistency of normative texts can be either a logical inconsistency or methodological inconsistency. In addressing challenging legal matters, it is necessary to pass from the logic to the methodology, which, of course, logic and logical semantics remains necessary armature of reasoning.
According to a classic position in analytic philosophy of mind, we must interpret agents as largely rational in order to be able to attribute intentional mental states to them. However, adopting this position requires clarifying in what way and by which criteria agents can still be irrational. In this paper the author will offer one such criterion. More specifically, he argues that the kind of rationality methodologically required by intentional interpretation is to be specified in terms of psychological efficacy. Thereby, this notion can be distinguished from a more commonly used notion of rationality and hence cannot be shown to be undermined by the potential prevalence of a corresponding kind of irrationality.
Brought up by a blood relation of princess Izabella Lubomirska of the Czartoryskis, prince Henryk Lubomirski (1777-1850) was apparently renowned among the aristocracy of Europe for his good looks; hence the portraits by, amongst others, Angelica Kauffmann and Antonio Canova's celebrated sculpture, depicting the youth most typically as Amour naked. Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun portrayed the boy three times. The subject of this article is the portrait defined by the artiste as 'Le petit prince Lubomirski, en amour de la Gloire'. It is claimed that a replica of the portrait gave rise to the painting known as 'La Génie de l'Empereur Alexandre I' (housed in the Hermitage). The standard interpretation found in previous publications on the subject is categorically rejected that he (Lubomirski) is 'the genius of fame' (Fama). The key to solving the question lies in the way Vigée-Lebrun defined the work, bearing in mind that the personifications depicted thus far have been misinterpreted. Reference is additionally made to portraits bearing titles that were riddles of the names of those depicted, one of Henryk Lubomirski actually being attributed by the article's author to Izabella Czartoryska.
In the course of their dynamic development, fictionalised computer games have become sophisticated audiovisual cultural texts which are becoming more and more important and which convey increasingly powerful messages. The worldview aspects of these games, and the way these aspects are expressed reach far beyond the traditionally conceptualised area of “game” or “play” in the strict sense. The reports from the players’ experiences come close to those theories of relating to a text discussed in the works by Gadamer and Ricoeur. At the same time, the increasingly strong influence of the quasi-ethical dimension of the message contained in these games places this area of “virtual leisure” in the space of hermeneutical discourse.
The article is devoted to interpretations of several Alpine fairy tales from the collection Fairy tales from the mountains edited by Elena Chmelová. The aim is not only to delimit the themes present in the tales – typical of magical folk tales – but also to point out characteristic regional, ethnographic, topographic and landscape-related motifs associated with specific features of the various parts of the Alps (Pennine, Bernese, Urner, Glarus, Rhaetian, Allgäu, Provence Alps etc.). A “commentary” is provided by 19th century accounts of Polish travellers.
Egocentricals are lexemes, grammatical categories (particularly the grammatical renditions of aspect, verbal gender, tense and mood) and syntactic structures, the semantics of which anticipates the implied speaker as a participant in the situation being described. The aim of this study is to define the lexical egocentricals in Slovak and outline the semantic-pragmatic roles of the speaker roles in the narrative statements. We distinguish between the semantic (receptor) and communicative (speaker) role, i.e. perspective and focalization, as an essential starting point for understanding egocentricals. We also distinguish between the canonical and non-canonical communication situation, i.e. primary and secondary egocentricals. We present a set of nine semantic-pragmatic roles, in which the egocentricals act from the pragmatic perspective as modifiers of statements and contribute to the implementation of the communication intentions of the speaker.
This article considers anti-illusive elements in Věra Linhartová’s (b. 1938) early work. It focuses on the text strategies that result in the magic, enigma, and mystery of her writing. Such effects are achieved by the continuous subversion of meaning, the frequent use of contradiction, the synecdoche, a penchant for the parlance of the deranged, and the intentional disruption of the continuity of time and space. This, the author of the article argues, is why, despite their plots, these texts are lyrical. Interrupted discourses that are continuously deprived of sense are intended here to affirm the presence of the author.
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