Subject and the Text: Essays on Literary Theory and Philosophy

The dominance in literary theory of perspectives derived from French poststructuralism is shown by the priority accorded to language. In this collection of essays, the German philosopher Manfred Frank challenges many of the fundamental assumptions of contemporary theory. The emphasis on language, he claims, ignores key arguments inherited from Romantic hermeneutics, those which demonstrate that interpretation is an individual activity never finally governed by rules. Andrew Bowie's introduction situates Frank's work in the context of contemporary debates in philosophy and literary theory.