Interpretive social theory must neither ignore nor treat self-descriptions as incorrigible.

Evidence

Yet these transindividual entities are the very locus of interpretation today, in its strongest sense (for good or ill). Far more than the debates over authorial intention, such continental concepts have provided the most frequent alibis for critical hypotheses about meanings not intended by their authors (nor does the Gadamer-Hirsch exchange really do justice to the complexity of such issues). — Fredric Jameson, Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic…, 477 (#complicates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Interpreting a group’s self-descriptions requires avoiding both scientific neutrality and uncritical acceptance — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 783; Social science must not rest on unexamined personal intuition — Russell Hardin, Trust and Trustworthiness, 287; Sociology cannot address group self-understanding without historical interpretation and dialectical communication — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 2428 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Transindividual structures, not authorial intention, anchor strong interpretation today. #complicates (0.72) — Fredric Jameson, Postmodernism, or, The Cultural Logic…, 477