In his ‘Afterword’ to the Nag Hammadi Library (Robinson 1988, 547), Richard Smith gives this account of Harold Bloom’s hermeneutic theory:
Bloom’s argument is that literary influence always proceeds by ‘a deliberately perverse misreading … an act of creative correction, of distortion, of perverse, willful revisionism whose purpose is to clear away the precursor so as to open a space for oneself.’
One can read (or possibly misread) the same perversity in many texts in the sciences and humanities as well – and perhaps in turning symbols too. The writer is motivated by the inadequacy of prior texts, especially those which represent authority or consensus. What the writer has to say is important because it hasn’t been said before; this originality stands out more clearly if he can show that previous writers have been wrong.
The more well-defined your guidance system is, and the more firmly your terms are attached to fixed niches in the meaning space of that system, the more prone you are to hostile readings. As Umberto Eco points out, ‘World visions can conceive of everything, except alternative world visions, if not in order to criticize them and to show their inconsistency’ (1984, 12). In the natural and social sciences, almost every text that aims to make an original contribution to its field begins by pointing out errors and inadequacies of its predecessors in the field.
But it is also possible to misread a scripture even when you recognize it as such. Misreadings can arise even from the default assumption that the text makes perfect sense, if we stubbornly cling to that assumption even when unfolding experience is incompatible with it.
What? Can a scripture be less than perfect? Can it contain no ‘satanic verses’ or errors? Must we swallow it whole? Certainly there is a temptation to take this path, as it will save us the trouble of deciding which verses are true or authentic and which are not. But this path is not viable because, as every honest reader knows, even a sacred verse can have satanic readings – those which, if embodied, would violate the compassionate mindfulness which is the heart of the divine. (The original ‘satanic reading’ is Satan’s reading of Job’s motivation, in the frame-tale of Job.)
Part of the genuine encounter with the scripture is to wrestle with the satanic readings, as Jacob wrestled with the angel. And if they can’t be ‘thrown’ in favor of more compassionate readings, then we must admit that either the text or our understanding of it is inadequate, and that we have no realistic basis for judging which one is at fault. Better then to vacate the judgment seat.