Interpretation and justification

Whenever understanding is sought we are obliged to justify our interpretati ons--to demonstrate that they furnish an adequate understanding of the worl d and its objects. The problem is to know whether this is possible--that wh at we take to be conclusive justifications do not covertly appeal to other favoured interpretations or systems of explanation, thus obviating the poss ibility of a neutral justification. By exploring the nature of interpretati on, I argue that neutral justifications of interpretations about works of a rt are indeed possible and that such interpretations can be shown to be tru e or false.