The Hierarchy of Authorship in the Hermeneutics of the <i>Daodejing</i>
The question of the authorship of the <i>Daodejing</i>, otherwise known as the <i>Laozi</i>, is a hotly contested debate, and one’s stance on the existence and role of the author can have potential implications for one’s interpretation of the text. This paper explores how not...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-05-01
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| Series: | Religions |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/13/5/433 |
| _version_ | 1797496049753915392 |
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| author | Daniel Sarafinas |
| author_facet | Daniel Sarafinas |
| author_sort | Daniel Sarafinas |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The question of the authorship of the <i>Daodejing</i>, otherwise known as the <i>Laozi</i>, is a hotly contested debate, and one’s stance on the existence and role of the author can have potential implications for one’s interpretation of the text. This paper explores how notions of authorship of a text influence, often unconsciously, a reader’s interpretation such that the possible meaning generated within that text becomes limited, reduced, or terminated. Three hermeneutic frameworks, Authorial intentionalism, reader-oriented readings, and intention of the text, are problematized, revealing both how they contribute to the production of meaning, but more importantly how a lack of critical awareness of one’s own hermeneutic stance regarding authorship might terminate potential significance. These hermeneutic frameworks are applied to the work of contemporary scholars and translators of the <i>Laozi</i> in order to assess how implicit notions of authorship contribute to strengths and weaknesses in interpretations of the <i>Laozi</i> as it regards the production of meaning and significance. Being critical in nature, this paper is meant only to reveal how the reader’s unreflexive engagement with their attitude toward authorship can lead to problematic results in interpretation and translation of any work in general and the <i>Laozi</i> in particular. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:58:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c154d951e7b84734ae772eaba2281225 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-1444 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:58:11Z |
| publishDate | 2022-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Religions |
| spelling | doaj.art-c154d951e7b84734ae772eaba22812252023-11-23T12:52:56ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442022-05-0113543310.3390/rel13050433The Hierarchy of Authorship in the Hermeneutics of the <i>Daodejing</i>Daniel Sarafinas0Philosophy Department, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 201100, ChinaThe question of the authorship of the <i>Daodejing</i>, otherwise known as the <i>Laozi</i>, is a hotly contested debate, and one’s stance on the existence and role of the author can have potential implications for one’s interpretation of the text. This paper explores how notions of authorship of a text influence, often unconsciously, a reader’s interpretation such that the possible meaning generated within that text becomes limited, reduced, or terminated. Three hermeneutic frameworks, Authorial intentionalism, reader-oriented readings, and intention of the text, are problematized, revealing both how they contribute to the production of meaning, but more importantly how a lack of critical awareness of one’s own hermeneutic stance regarding authorship might terminate potential significance. These hermeneutic frameworks are applied to the work of contemporary scholars and translators of the <i>Laozi</i> in order to assess how implicit notions of authorship contribute to strengths and weaknesses in interpretations of the <i>Laozi</i> as it regards the production of meaning and significance. Being critical in nature, this paper is meant only to reveal how the reader’s unreflexive engagement with their attitude toward authorship can lead to problematic results in interpretation and translation of any work in general and the <i>Laozi</i> in particular.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/13/5/433<i>Laozi</i>hermeneuticsauthorial intentionalismreader-oriented text |
| spellingShingle | Daniel Sarafinas The Hierarchy of Authorship in the Hermeneutics of the <i>Daodejing</i> Religions <i>Laozi</i> hermeneutics authorial intentionalism reader-oriented text |
| title | The Hierarchy of Authorship in the Hermeneutics of the <i>Daodejing</i> |
| title_full | The Hierarchy of Authorship in the Hermeneutics of the <i>Daodejing</i> |
| title_fullStr | The Hierarchy of Authorship in the Hermeneutics of the <i>Daodejing</i> |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Hierarchy of Authorship in the Hermeneutics of the <i>Daodejing</i> |
| title_short | The Hierarchy of Authorship in the Hermeneutics of the <i>Daodejing</i> |
| title_sort | hierarchy of authorship in the hermeneutics of the i daodejing i |
| topic | <i>Laozi</i> hermeneutics authorial intentionalism reader-oriented text |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/13/5/433 |
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