presence as an "extremely intricate oscillation between a move, perhaps unavoidable, towards epistemological sense-making and conceptualization on the one hand, and, on the other, an at least formally opening move in the direction of ontological concerns." Gumbrecht links the practice of interpretation as the search for meaning or "sense-making" with a form of understanding that is unique to the social and historical context, as well as the material and bodily experience, of the reader. Critique of the literary analytical tradition Gumbrecht's focus on presence in the reading of literature is significant for his elaboration of a "post-hermeneutic" form of literary criticism. He has argued that the emphasis on interpretation in academic intellectual practices is incomplete, and that the "meaning-only" model of understanding it produces does not account for the subjective experience of the arts. In Production of Presence (2003), Gumbrecht criticizes the status of literary study in university settings, arguing that the humanities overemphasize the importance of interpretation, or "the reconstruction and attribution of meaning." Instead, he argues for an intellectual practice that would take into account the importance of "presence," or material engagement with the artistic works being examined. Gumbrecht traces the emphasis on meaning and interpretation back to Early Modernity, drawing from Martin Heidegger's concept of "Being" and commenting on the work of many other scholars, including Jacques Derrida's writing on overcoming metaphysics. Gumbrecht critiques the emphasis on reason and rationality that originated with the Age of Enlightenment, and in particular, references Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, Critique of Practical Reason, and Critique of Judgment, as well as the Cartesian tendency to exclude presence from metaphysics. These modes of conceptualization have become ingrained in philosophical analysis and other intellectual inquiry in the humanities. Gumbrecht highlights the importance of modes of "world-appropriation" that do not focus on locating or discerning meaning. He describes three principal methods meant to define the future, non-hermeneutical function of the humanities. These are epiphany, presentification, and deixis. Epiphany refers to a moment of intensity or loss of control related to viewing an artistic work; presentification refers to immersing oneself in the past moment of the artwork's production; deixis involves the "lived experience" of artistic work, rather than the imposition of meaning. Gumbrecht rehearses these concepts most centrally in Production of Presence, but his critique of the legacy of Enlightenment thinking and its influence on literary criticism and hermeneutics informs other works by Gumbrecht