Constructing Meaning: A Dialog Between Reader and Text

The difference between extracting meaning and embedding it lies in the fact that traditionally, one might think that meaning is already contained within the text and that the task is simply to "extract" this objective meaning. However, an analysis of the presented materials shows that the meaning of a text is not something predetermined or objectively existing. On the contrary, it emerges in the dialogue between the reader and the text; meaning is "embedded" in the text when the reader, relying on their cultural, personal, and contextual experience, ascribes significance to it.

As noted in one of the sources:
"For the very existence of countless interpretations of any text attests that reading is never an objective process of discovering meaning, but of embedding meaning into a text that in itself has no meaning. In fact, this is the credo of the entire corpus of cultural and art criticism, art philosophy, and post-aesthetics, which transforms the critical text into an artistic one." (source: link txt)

This emphasizes that meaning is not passively extracted, but created through the active participation of the reader, who, when considering the text, fills it with their own experience and interpretations. Another source explains this process with an emphasis on the role of the surrounding context and interconnection:
"Indeed, since abstract meaning is isolated, independent of everything around it and does not interact with anything, interpreted meaning implies an environment around it, which it, incidentally, partly absorbs. The environment of meaning is that which is not meaning, the other of meaning, the non-meaning of meaning. Interpreted meaning absorbs its non-meaning, identifying with its non-meaning." (source: link txt)

Thus, the process of "embedding" meaning means that the reader not only discovers some already existing meaning but actively forms an interpretation of the text by relating it to external elements and their own perceptions. This affects how the text is perceived, as each reader, filtering the text through their personal experiences and current cultural context, may infuse the text with different significances. The text, in turn, becomes a platform for diverse interpretations, and its perception takes on a multi-layered, dynamic character.

In summary: the difference between extracting meaning and embedding it is that the former presupposes a passive discovery of a pre-assigned meaning, while the latter involves active creative participation by the reader, who, through a dialogue with the text's context, shapes its interpretation. This process makes the perception of the text unique for each individual, as the meaning is constantly enriched by personal and cultural filters.

Constructing Meaning: A Dialog Between Reader and Text

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