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AdvonKoulthar t1_jb371g6 wrote

Reply to comment by FlyingApple31 in Philosophy is everywhere in Neon Genesis Evangelion by linosan

And I wish to piss on the grave of the guy who came up with that. Death of the Author is the Death of Communication, if you divorce yourself from the meaning others try to convey, why interact with them on that level at all?
You may as well take a lesson from a stone if you’re willing to ignore a creator’s intent and invent your own theories.

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FlyingApple31 t1_jb3b5ns wrote

The theory is more damning than that - you can believe that you have an idea what the creator meant, but it will always be contrived.

There is no perfect communication, and I think there is an important epistemological truth in that worth grappling with -- especially at a pragmatic level.

You can be annoyed with it all you want, but it is important to realize the limits of senses and information -- all models are models, approximations with limits that breakdown.

But once you know that, there is some freedom in existence to be had -- especially with interpreting art.

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AdvonKoulthar t1_jb3d5o2 wrote

It’s not simply being uncertain of what’s being communicated, it’s that Death of the Author is intentionally a rejection of the idea someone is communicating anything. The whole premise is ‘it doesn’t matter what the author means’ which goes far beyond ‘we can’t be certain what the author meant’. It’s refusing to engage, not being limited in how you engage.

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FlyingApple31 t1_jb3f16c wrote

If what the author meant is not and can't be what is overall received, then I don't know how anyone can argue that what the author meant can have much importance.

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AdvonKoulthar t1_jb401h6 wrote

Thank you for changing your mind and agreeing with me that death of the author is a terrible idea.

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FlyingApple31 t1_jb439iu wrote

LOL -- is this a meta-reply? Are you applying your definition of "death of the author" here to decide to interpret what I said as whatever it is you want it to mean?

That is funny, and makes an interesting point, but I don't actually believe you read my response to have an opposite meaning to what "I intended". You might interpret it slightly differently than how I might have written it, but death of the author doesn't give carte blanche to willfully lie about how you received it.

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