intentional fallacy

[ in-ten-shuh-nl fal-uh-see ]

noun

1. (in literary criticism) an assertion that the intended meaning of the author is not the only or most important meaning; a fallacy involving an assessment of a literary work based on the author's intended meaning rather than on actual response to the work.

Word History and Origins

Origin of intentional fallacy¹

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

We buy into some version of the intentional fallacy: the notion that art is about having a clear-cut intention and then confidently executing same.

From The Guardian

“I know that it’s been described that way, and I am happy with that. It’s part of the intentional fallacy. But when I see James Brown it has a religious feel. Anything deep does.”

From The New Yorker

I was trained by the Yale English department to avoid “the intentional fallacy”—seeking to discern something about a work’s meaning by reference to the writer’s usually irretrievable intention for how it should be read.

From Slate

Maybe that’s an accurate judgment; maybe it submits to an intentional fallacy.

From New York Times