intentional fallacy

American  

[in-ten-shuh-nl fal-uh-see] / ɪnˈtɛn ʃə nl ˈfæl ə si /

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.

---

Etymology

Origin of intentional fallacy

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 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