© The Author(s) 2016 83
K.J. Archer, L.W. Oliverio, Jr. (eds.), Constructive
Pneumatological Hermeneutics in Pentecostal Christianity,
DOI 10.1057/978-1-137-58561-5_6
CHAPTER 6
Ecoing Hirsch: Do Readers Find
or Construct Meaning?
Glen W. Menzies
G. W. Menzies ( )
Museum of the Bible , Washington , DC , USA
INTRODUCTION
This chapter is organized in three parts. First, it assesses the contributions
of E. D. Hirsch, Jr., whose books Validity in Interpretation (1967) and
The Aims of Interpretation (1976) together remain the past half-century’s
most spirited defense of the theory that the meanings of texts are deter-
mined by the intentions of their authors. Second, I juxtapose the theories
of the reader-response critic I hold in highest esteem, Umberto Eco, with
those of Prof. Hirsch. Finally, I offer some thoughts of my own.
P ART 1: HIRSCH: HERMENEUTICS AND CONSCIOUSNESS
At the root of Hirsch’s hermeneutical theory is his conviction that “mean-
ing” must be located within some consciousness. The construction of
meaning is a mental activity, and consequently, construed strictly, it is
nonsensical to speak of a text’s meaning. Whatever one may say about
a text, a text does not possess consciousness. That people often speak of
texts anthropomorphically as possessing consciousness is undeniable (e.g.,
