p. 28). But poets, writers, and artists, for their part, were unwilling to lay down their claims to spiritual authority. Instead, they became "disenchanted"—a disenchantment that has continued to the present day and that has even been institutionalized in many artistic circles. Bénichou's critical method Finally, Paul Bénichou's critical method depends on an interpretive ideal of plausibilité ('plausibility' or 'credibility'), i.e. fidelity to the thought embodied in the work, so that any interpretation of a work ought, at least in principle, to be acceptable to its author. He viewed structuralism, post-structuralism, and enthusiasm for literary theory in literary criticism with skepticism. In his view, these are inherently flawed approaches, in that they tend to reduce the work of literature to one of its modalities. Bénichou insisted, instead, that a work of literature is inherently heterogeneous and multifaceted. His hostility to single-minded approaches to criticism and disdain for popular contemporary critical schools delayed appreciation of his work during his own lifetime, but this neglect seems, paradoxically, to have contributed to its long-term vitality. Bibliography Named link: Bibliography of works by and about Paul Bénichou, with annotations About Paul Bénichou Sylvie Romanowski and Monique Bilezikian, Homage to Paul Bénichou, Birmingham (Alabama), Summa Publications, 1994 "Paul Bénichou Memorial Minute", in the Harvard Gazette, 2005 (contains many biographical informations) References 1908 births 2001 deaths Algerian Jews École Normale Supérieure alumni Harvard University faculty French literary critics French scholars Lycée Louis-le-Grand alumni Lycée Condorcet teachers French people of Algerian-Jewish descent Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences People from Tlemcen French male non-fiction writers Lycée Janson-de-Sailly teachers 20th-century French male writers Migrants from French Algeria to France French expatriates in the United States