Shifting Focus

While I believe I understand the point Elgin is trying to make in the beginning section of this chapter, I'm not sure that I agree with her claim that exemplars supplement knowledge. She states that, "Exemplars, being symbols, require interpretation" (175) yet if they require interpretation, is that really beneficial to knowledge gathering? Do we really "know" something that we've interpreted. Elgin goes on to say that "many symbols admit of multiple right interpretations." (175) If pluralism exists, how can that be truth/knowledge? Perhaps I'm misinterpreting the point Elgin's trying to make (it wouldn't be the first time in this class) but this chapter seems to contradict what she's been saying in the previous chapters. I hope we can discuss this section of the chapter in class today so I can get some clarification. I'm curious to see if anyone else had a similar response.