Even in antiquity, authors were understandably concerned about the fate of their texts in the hands of run-away readers. Was it even possible for an author to defend their intentions, once their texts were out of their hands, before or after their death? Authorial intention has also been a topic of debate in modern literary criticism. It was dismissed as a fallacy, but also revived with renewed energy in cognitive criticism. Do scrupulous readers care? This lecture will take us on a journey featuring Plato, Woody Allen’s Annie Hall, the doctor Galen, paraphilology, the rhetor and philosopher Isocrates, and cognitive approaches to literature.
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