Miguel Tamen is Senior Associate Professor of Literary Theory at the University of Lisbon. He is the author of Manners of Interpretation: The Ends of Argument in Literary Studies.

• Introduction 1. Invention and interpretation 2. Can a life be invented 3. Can art be made 4. The roots of invention Notes Index.

"[The Matter of Facts] is an impressive accomplishment that betrays an original mind. The great strength of Tamen's investigation lies in his determination to concentrate exclusively on the problematics at hand, instead of engaging in fruitless ad hominem arguments." - Germanic Notes and Reviews "This brilliant book is a very thoughtful, very original, set of reflections on the nature of interpretation, and on the distinction between making and finding—between putting something into the text and finding features intrinsic to it. Philosophically sophisticated, it is a powerful and effective intervention in contemporary debates in literary theory." - Richard Rorty (Stanford University) "Tamen has an extremely distinguished mind, both as a thinker and as a reader of texts. He also has an independent mind and thinks things out for himself, though he knows, and adroitly refers to, previous scholarship. The three central chapters on works by Wilde, Nietzsche, and Kant are truly remarkable, based on brilliant interpretations of key passages that are unfolded and explicated in detail. These are dazzling readings of great originality and persuasive insight." - J. Hillis Miller (University of California, Irvine)

Miguel Tamen is Senior Associate Professor of Literary Theory at the University of Lisbon. He is the author of Manners of Interpretation: The Ends of Argument in Literary Studies.

• Introduction 1. Invention and interpretation 2. Can a life be invented 3. Can art be made 4. The roots of invention Notes Index.

"[The Matter of Facts] is an impressive accomplishment that betrays an original mind. The great strength of Tamen's investigation lies in his determination to concentrate exclusively on the problematics at hand, instead of engaging in fruitless ad hominem arguments." - Germanic Notes and Reviews "This brilliant book is a very thoughtful, very original, set of reflections on the nature of interpretation, and on the distinction between making and finding—between putting something into the text and finding features intrinsic to it. Philosophically sophisticated, it is a powerful and effective intervention in contemporary debates in literary theory." - Richard Rorty (Stanford University) "Tamen has an extremely distinguished mind, both as a thinker and as a reader of texts. He also has an independent mind and thinks things out for himself, though he knows, and adroitly refers to, previous scholarship. The three central chapters on works by Wilde, Nietzsche, and Kant are truly remarkable, based on brilliant interpretations of key passages that are unfolded and explicated in detail. These are dazzling readings of great originality and persuasive insight." - J. Hillis Miller (University of California, Irvine)

Miguel Tamen is Senior Associate Professor of Literary Theory at the University of Lisbon. He is the author of Manners of Interpretation: The Ends of Argument in Literary Studies.

• Introduction 1. Invention and interpretation 2. Can a life be invented 3. Can art be made 4. The roots of invention Notes Index.

"[The Matter of Facts] is an impressive accomplishment that betrays an original mind. The great strength of Tamen's investigation lies in his determination to concentrate exclusively on the problematics at hand, instead of engaging in fruitless ad hominem arguments." - Germanic Notes and Reviews "This brilliant book is a very thoughtful, very original, set of reflections on the nature of interpretation, and on the distinction between making and finding—between putting something into the text and finding features intrinsic to it. Philosophically sophisticated, it is a powerful and effective intervention in contemporary debates in literary theory." - Richard Rorty (Stanford University) "Tamen has an extremely distinguished mind, both as a thinker and as a reader of texts. He also has an independent mind and thinks things out for himself, though he knows, and adroitly refers to, previous scholarship. The three central chapters on works by Wilde, Nietzsche, and Kant are truly remarkable, based on brilliant interpretations of key passages that are unfolded and explicated in detail. These are dazzling readings of great originality and persuasive insight." - J. Hillis Miller (University of California, Irvine)