Interpretations : conflicting, competing, complementary

Abstract

When we say, in ordinary conversation, that something calls for or requires interpretation, we assume that there is something about it which makes it unclear, puzzling or, at any rate, difficult to understand, something that needs unpacking or sorting out. Among the things that we normally think of as requiring interpretation are codes, riddles, myths, parables and works of art, but also those utterances, gestures and actions which we find baffling, peculiar, odd, unusual or in some way in need of explanation or elucidation. We hire an interpreter when we are in a foreign country, trying to converse or communicate with people whose language we do not understand. Psychoanalysts, prophets and soothsayers interpret dreams, exegetes interpret holy texts, theatre-directors and actors interpret plays, conductors and performers interpret musical scores, judges interpret the law, critics interpret literary works. Apart from being right or wrong, interpretations may also be illuminating, exciting, detailed, adequate, striking, convincing, partial, far-fetched, strained, etc.