§
3:
Reading as
Elucidation
The second stage in
reading a philosophical work is to elucidate the text.
The term elucidation comes from the Latin “elucidare”
meaning to shine light upon or to completely illuminate.
Simply being able to sum up an author’s position is not enough to
fully penetrate the vast recesses of his ideas—particularly if he is a
seriously profound kind of guy as most philosophers are.
We need to get behind the words of the texts to “shed light” upon
its deeper (less apparent) meaning.
This quest for the
deeper meaning of a text will demand some kind of interpretation, and this
interpretation will vary somewhat depending upon the unique perspective of the
reader.
Among the tasks you
will have to perform in elucidating a text are the following:
1.
Identifying Implications
:
If
we are to fully appreciate the significance of an author’s position, all of
the implications of that position must be fully drawn out from the text. Implications are logical outcomes of an author’s
position that are implied, suggested or inferred from a text, rather than
being openly expressed. No author is capable of drawing out all of the
implications of his ideas (he may not even be aware of all of them); it is the
reader’s job to do this.
When you are contemplating
the implications of an author’s position, always ask yourself what the
consequences would be (to yourself, to human society, to our understanding of
the world) if his view is accepted. If, in reading a great work of philosophy, you are
unable to uncover any hidden implications in the author’s position, the
problem probably lies with you and not with the text.
Remember: great works
always have great implications!!!
2.
Unveiling Relevance
:
The great philosophical works have
stood the test of time and possess a depth that enables them to speak to a
wide variety of people from diverse backgrounds.
Plato’s Republic, for example, has provoked readers for over
2,500 years, and continues to be cited by contemporary authors for its
relevance to our own times. Such
“staying power” is common to most great works, since these works typically
offer an insight into the human condition that transcends the cultures in
which they were written.
When you are reading a
great philosophical work, then, you should always be on the lookout to see how
that work may have relevance for your own life.
Some of the questions that you should constantly be reflecting upon as
you read are: What does this work
have to say to me about the meaning of my own existence and my place in the
cosmos? What can it tell me about
the way to live a good life? Does
it offer any positive solutions to some of the social or political problems
facing the human race in the 21st century?
What insights can it give me about the nature of God and my
relationship to him? It is only when these questions are asked of a given text
that the real work of deep reading has begun.
EXERCISE 3: Elucidating
a Text
Molloy
College |
Department of Philosophy
| Sophia Project
©
2000, Michael S. Russo. For more information
contact: mrusso@molloy.edu