The first step in the exposition was to clarify the rift between hermeneutics and structuralism. Restoring parity between the language system and spoken discourse countermands the error of excluding meaning and reference from language. The second step was to lay out the assumptions of hermeneutics and examine the structure it imputes to both spoken and written discourse.

The fourth step in the exposition was to present Ricoeur's theory of metaphorical reference. The theory argues for a splitting of reference in metaphor.

The discussion in this text is about meaning and reference in the context of hermeneutic theory. A prevailing question in the text is whether or not a phenomenologically based theory of discourse can clarify the postulate of reference in interpretation theories.

The third step in the exposition was to secure the autonomy of the text.

I have relied upon specific texts of Ricoeur's for an exposition of the problem of reference in each of three contexts: semiotics, semantics and texts.

Finally I have traced Ricoeur's theory of discourse to its phenomenological roots and shown that another hermeneutic path may share these same roots. This other path is that taken by Derrida.