The monograph turns to post-analytic and neopragmatic philosophy. These are among the key currents of philosophical thinking in the 20th century, and their focus on questions of language closely aligns them with literary theory.
Individual chapters consider speech act theory (J. R.
Searle, M. L.
Pratt, J. H.
Miller), terms such as radical translation (W. V.
O. Quine), radical interpretation (D.
Davidson), source metaphor (S. C.
Pepper), the finite dictionary or normal and abnormal discourse (R. Rorty), R.
Ingarden's and J. Mukařovský's conception of meaning, or a reflection on Derrida's deconstruction from post-analytic and neo-pragmatic positions.
The aim of the book is to explore the possibilities that these theories, concepts and notions open up for thinking about literature, and also to verify the potential of their use in the analysis of literary discourse.