The essays in this volume are, with some exceptions, efforts to make sense out of difficult or problematic philosophical texts. Some of these readings depart, sometimes radically, from standard readings. Yet the principles of interpretation that underlie these essays are not themselves radical. The interpretations are governed by a semantic principle of charity, namely, that there is a very strong presumption in favor of holding that philosophers meant to say precisely what they did say, and that what they did say means precisely what it seems to mean. This approach encourages close reading of ... More

The essays in this volume are, with some exceptions, efforts to make sense out of difficult or problematic philosophical texts. Some of these readings depart, sometimes radically, from standard readings. Yet the principles of interpretation that underlie these essays are not themselves radical. The interpretations are governed by a semantic principle of charity, namely, that there is a very strong presumption in favor of holding that philosophers meant to say precisely what they did say, and that what they did say means precisely what it seems to mean. This approach encourages close reading of the text.