The epistemological consequences of subjective approaches to interpretation with an emphasis on the views of Mojtahed Shabestari and Soroush

Subjectivism is an approach to interpretation that finds credible the involvement of the subjective element or the interpreter's mental world in meaning creation. According to this approach, every text has a meaning independent of its reader. Some intellectuals' views about interpretation are influenced by subjectivism, which has been reflected as various interpretations and explanations, seasoned with religious knowledge, in the works and ideas of Islamic intellectuals such as Mojtahed Shabestari and Soroush. With an analytic approach and based on the statements of these intellectuals, this paper has concluded that their subjectivism in interpreting religious texts has led to relativism in religious knowledge, which is represented in various ways such as pluralism, the multiplicity of religious readings, and the transformability and historicism of religious knowledge. The consequence of relativism in religious knowledge is giving credit to eisegesis, ignoring the existence of real meaning, and deconsecrating religious texts, especially the Holy Quran. By accepting relativism and multiple readings of religious texts, it is impossible to claim an accurate and valid understanding and interpretation of these texts.