So we will be constantly engaged in trying on points of view, in seeing where they lead, in asking how we might decide whether we would want to end up there or not. These sorts of moves are what I will be expecting you to show me in the exams you write in the course. Another point we need to keep in mind is that the idea that interpreting works of art is a rational enterprise is an enabling assumption of the course , and of your own decision to enroll in it. It would belong, rather, among the private pastimes, like selecting the wines or pale India ales that most flatter your particular palate. In other words, genuine improvement is supposedly possible.
Reason is the judge.
Reason is something we all share, or at least have the potential to develop. You thus carry away a lingering curiosity about whether Jane is dishonest, or terribly busy and distracted at work, or merely bored with her job. Since your friend John is a member of the group, you can't help being curious who the offenders are. A few days later you run into your friend John munching a donut at the Union. You ask him whether the donuts are better at the Union or over at Dara's.