Motivations,Epistemological Considerations,Concepts of Literature,and Aims of Research in the Empirical Study of Literature in the United States and Germany

Abstract

Assuming that at present the hermeneutic and the empirical paradigm in literary studies are dominant and competing perspectives of research, two questions arise: 1) are the empirical programs of the American and the European (especially German) tradition compatible? To answer this question it appears necessary to look carefully at the motivation, the epistemological foundation, the concept of literature and the aims of research in both traditions. One of the results of the inquiry is that the demarcation line which separates hermeneutic and empirical research is less pronounced in the American tradition. 2) The question is discussed whether “Radical Constructivism” as discussed by S. J. Schmidt and E. von Glasersfeld is a unifying epistemological concept that can take away not only the differences between the empirical programs of Schmidt and Bleich but also the schism between hermeneutics and empiricism.