The Idea of a Text and the Nature of Textual Meaning

In his account of text and textual meaning, Pettersson demonstrates that a text as commonly conceived is not only a verbal structure but also a physical entity, two kinds of phenomena which do not in fact add up to a unitary object. He describes this current notion of text as convenient enough for many practical purposes, but inadequate in discussions of a theoretically more demanding nature. Having clearly demonstrated its intellectual drawbacks, he develops an alternative, boldly revisionary way of thinking about text and textual meaning. His careful argument is in challenging dialogue with assumptions about language-in-use to be found in a wide range of present-day literary theory, linguistics, philosophical aesthetics, and philosophy of language.

Christopher M. Hutton, The University of Hong Kong:
In this lucid and provocative study, Pettersson challenges our most basic assumptions about the nature of texts and textual meaning. Its point of departure is a critical analysis of the popular conception of the text: the view that a text is a unitary entity made up of both physical objects and abstract verbal structures. Pettersson convincingly argues for the incoherence of this model as a foundation for intellectual discussion, showing how it permeates disciplines as diverse as linguistics, philosophy, literary theory, and aesthetics. This book is a rigorously argued plea for conceptual clarity in our engagement with the meanings of texts of all kinds.