On true interpretation

This essay presents an argument against the thesis of true interpretation as the goal of the interpretation process. The starting point is that an interpretation is true if it corresponds to the original interpretation. After considering three possible scenarios of the relationship between the actual interpreter and the original interpretation, it is concluded that the requirement for a true interpretation is either trivial or ideological. A more moderate view is then considered, that an interpretation is true if it establishes the meaning that the author probably intended to attach to his text. This definition is also objected to, with the conclusion that the thesis of true interpretation as the goal of the interpretation process should be replaced by some other, e.g. the thesis of more or less adequate interpretation, where the goal of interpretation would be to get as close as possible to the probable meaning of the text.