On Judging the Interpretation

New narrative research shares the epistemological presuppositions of the broad current of postfoundationalism. It says that there is no position outside of our language (or our form of life) that allows us to check whether statements we make about reality are true or false. This is, however, not the same as relativism or subjectivism. The acknowledgment of the groundlessness of knowledge does not mean that anything goes or that there are no constraints on what can be said. A narrative account can be seen as an interpretation. The narrative is a construction, and more than one interpretation is possible. How then is the interpretation to be judged? Several authors have proposed possible criteria, but there are limits to the explication of the criteria for judging an interpretation. Ultimately the interpretation must be accepted by a relevant community of researchers. The interpretation must offer sufficient indications that the researchers have done justice to the situation, and this rests on the knowledge of the community of researchers. (Contains 13 references.) (SLD)