Kant And The Platypus

Author : Umberto Eco
Publisher : HMH
Page : 480 pages
File Size : 40,5 Mb
Release : 2000-11-09
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 9780547563787

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Kant and the Platypus by Umberto Eco Pdf

How do we know a cat is a cat . . . and why do we call it a cat? An “intriguing and often fascinating” look at words, perceptions, and the relationship between them (Newark Star-Ledger). In Kant and the Platypus, the renowned semiotician, philosopher, and bestselling author of The Name of the Rose and Foucault’s Pendulum explores the question of how much of our perception of things is based on cognitive ability, and how much on linguistic resources. In six remarkable essays, Umberto Eco explores in depth questions of reality, perception, and experience. Basing his ideas on common sense, Eco shares a vast wealth of literary and historical knowledge, touching on issues that affect us every day. At once philosophical and amusing, Kant and the Platypus is a tour of the world of our senses, told by a master of knowing what is real and what is not. “An erudite, detailed inquirity into the philosophy of mind . . . Here, Eco is continental philosopher, semiotician, and cognitive scientist rolled all into one.” —Library Journal (starred review)

Author : Umberto Eco
Publisher : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Page : 464 pages
File Size : 43,6 Mb
Release : 2000
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 015601159X

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Kant and the Platypus by Umberto Eco Pdf

A collection of essays discusses such topics as the nature of perception, the semiotic links between cognition and language, and iconism, with imaginative fables featuring animal heroes to illustrate the main points.

Author : Umberto Eco
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 464 pages
File Size : 45,7 Mb
Release : 1997
Category : Semiotics
ISBN : OCLC:610376726

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Kant and the Platypus by Umberto Eco Pdf

Author : Thomas Cathcart,Daniel Klein
Publisher : Penguin
Page : 224 pages
File Size : 49,6 Mb
Release : 2008-06-24
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 9781440634239

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Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar . . . by Thomas Cathcart,Daniel Klein Pdf

This New York Times bestseller is the hilarious philosophy course everyone wishes they’d had in school. Outrageously funny, Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar... has been a breakout bestseller ever since authors—and born vaudevillians—Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein did their schtick on NPR’s Weekend Edition. Lively, original, and powerfully informative, Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar... is a not-so-reverent crash course through the great philosophical thinkers and traditions, from Existentialism (What do Hegel and Bette Midler have in common?) to Logic (Sherlock Holmes never deduced anything). Philosophy 101 for those who like to take the heavy stuff lightly, this is a joy to read—and finally, it all makes sense! And now, you can read Daniel Klein's further musings on life and philosophy in Travels with Epicurus and Every Time I Find the Meaning of Life, They Change it.

Author : Torkild Thellefsen,Bent Sørensen
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Page : 352 pages
File Size : 52,6 Mb
Release : 2017-08-21
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9781501507144

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Umberto Eco in His Own Words by Torkild Thellefsen,Bent Sørensen Pdf

Hitherto, there has been no book that attempted to sum up the breadth of Umberto Eco’s work and it importance for the study of semiotics, communication and cognition. There have been anthologies and overviews of Eco’s work within Eco Studies; sometimes, works in semiotics have used aspects of Eco’s work. Yet, thus far, there has been no overview of the work of Eco in the breadth of semiotics. This volume is a contribution to both semiotics and Eco studies. The 40 scholars who participate in the volume come from a variety of disciplines but have all chosen to work with a favorite quotation from Eco that they find particularly illustrative of the issues that his work raises. Some of the scholars have worked exegetically placing the quotation within a tradition, others have determined the (epistemic) value of the quotation and offered a critique, while still others have seen the quotation as a starting point for conceptual developments within a field of application. However, each article within this volume points toward the relevance of Eco -- for contemporary studies concerning semiotics, communication and cognition.

Author : Umberto Eco
Publisher : Columbia University Press
Page : 168 pages
File Size : 51,5 Mb
Release : 1998-10-06
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 9780231500142

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Serendipities by Umberto Eco Pdf

Best-selling author Umberto Eco's latest work unlocks the riddles of history in an exploration of the "linguistics of the lunatic," stories told by scholars, scientists, poets, fanatics, and ordinary people in order to make sense of the world. Exploring the "Force of the False," Eco uncovers layers of mistakes that have shaped human history, such as Columbus's assumption that the world was much smaller than it is, leading him to seek out a quick route to the East via the West and thus fortuitously "discovering" America. The fictions that grew up around the cults of the Rosicrucians and Knights Templar were the result of a letter from a mysterious "Prester John"—undoubtedly a hoax—that provided fertile ground for a series of delusions and conspiracy theories based on religious, ethnic, and racial prejudices. While some false tales produce new knowledge (like Columbus's discovery of America) and others create nothing but horror and shame (the Rosicrucian story wound up fueling European anti-Semitism) they are all powerfully persuasive. In a careful unraveling of the fabulous and the false, Eco shows us how serendipities—unanticipated truths—often spring from mistaken ideas. From Leibniz's belief that the I Ching illustrated the principles of calculus to Marco Polo's mistaking a rhinoceros for a unicorn, Eco tours the labyrinth of intellectual history, illuminating the ways in which we project the familiar onto the strange. Eco uncovers a rich history of linguistic endeavor—much of it ill-conceived—that sought to "heal the wound of Babel." Through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, Greek, Hebrew, Chinese, and Egyptian were alternately proclaimed as the first language that God gave to Adam, while—in keeping with the colonial climate of the time—the complex language of the Amerindians in Mexico was viewed as crude and diabolical. In closing, Eco considers the erroneous notion of linguistic perfection and shrewdly observes that the dangers we face lie not in the rules we use to interpret other cultures but in our insistence on making these rules absolute. With the startling combination of erudition and wit, bewildering anecdotes and scholarly rigor that are Eco's hallmarks, Serendipities is sure to entertain and enlighten any reader with a passion for the curious history of languages and ideas.

Author : Umberto Eco
Publisher : Indiana University Press
Page : 260 pages
File Size : 50,8 Mb
Release : 1986-07-22
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN : 0253203988

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Semiotics and the Philosophy of Language by Umberto Eco Pdf

"Eco wittily and enchantingly develops themes often touched on in his previous works, but he delves deeper into their complex nature . . . this collection can be read with pleasure by those unversed in semiotic theory." —Times Literary Supplement

Author : Umberto Eco
Publisher : HMH
Page : 259 pages
File Size : 41,9 Mb
Release : 1995-09-15
Category : Humor
ISBN : 9780547540436

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How to Travel with a Salmon by Umberto Eco Pdf

“Impishly witty and ingeniously irreverent” essays on topics from cell phones to librarians, by the author of The Name of the Rose and Foucault’s Pendulum (The Atlantic Monthly). A cosmopolitan curmudgeon the Los Angeles Times called “the Andy Rooney of academia”—known for both nonfiction and novels that have become blockbuster New York Times bestsellers—Umberto Eco takes readers on “a delightful romp through the absurdities of modern life” (Publishers Weekly) as he journeys around the world and into his own wildly adventurous mind. From the mundane details of getting around on Amtrak or in the back of a cab, to reflections on computer jargon and soccer fans, to more important issues like the effects of mass media and consumer civilization—not to mention the challenges of trying to refrigerate an expensive piece of fish at an English hotel—this renowned writer, semiotician, and philosopher provides “an uncanny combination of the profound and the profane” (San Francisco Chronicle). “Eco entertains with his clever reflections and with his unique persona.” —Kirkus Reviews Translated from the Italian by William Weaver

Author : Umberto Eco
Publisher : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Page : 131 pages
File Size : 52,7 Mb
Release : 2002-10-01
Category : Literary Collections
ISBN : 9780547564050

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Five Moral Pieces by Umberto Eco Pdf

In this prescient essay collection, the acclaimed author of Foucault’s Pendulum examines the cultural trends and perils at the dawn of the 21st century. In the last decade of the 20th century, Umberto Eco saw an urgent need to embrace tolerance and multiculturalism in the face of our world’s ever-increasing interconnectivity. At a talk delivered during the first Gulf War, he points out the absurdity of armed conflict in a globalized economy where the flow of information is unstoppable and the enemy is always behind the lines. Elsewhere, he questions the influence of the news media and identifies its contribution to our collective disillusionment with politics. In a deeply personal essay, Eco recalls his boyhood experience of Italy’s liberation from fascism. He then analyzes the universal elements of fascism, including the “cult of tradition” and a “suspicion of intellectual life.” And finally, in an open letter to an Italian cardinal, Eco reflects on a question underlying all the reflections in the book: What does it mean to be moral or ethical when one doesn't believe in God? “At just 111 pages, Five Moral Pieces packs a philosophical wallop surprising in such a slender book. Or maybe not so surprising. Eco's prose here is beautiful.”—January Magazine

Author : Umberto Eco
Publisher : MacLehose Press
Page : 408 pages
File Size : 46,8 Mb
Release : 2012
Category : Aesthetics
ISBN : 1906694893

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The Infinity of Lists by Umberto Eco Pdf

Reflections on how the idea of catalogs has changed over the centuries and how, from one period to another, it has expressed the spirit of the times. Companion to the author's History of beauty and On ugliness.

Author : Michael Caesar
Publisher : John Wiley & Sons
Page : 261 pages
File Size : 45,8 Mb
Release : 2013-05-29
Category : Literary Criticism
ISBN : 9780745665948

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Umberto Eco by Michael Caesar Pdf

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the work and thought of Umberto Eco - one of the most important writers in Europe today.

Author : Umberto Eco
Publisher : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Page : 595 pages
File Size : 45,7 Mb
Release : 2014
Category : Fiction
ISBN : 9780544176560

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The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco Pdf

In 1327, Brother William of Baskerville is sent to investigate charges of heresy against Franciscan monks at a wealthy Italian abbey but finds his mission overshadowed by seven bizarre murders.

Author : Umberto Eco
Publisher : Harvard University Press
Page : 337 pages
File Size : 41,6 Mb
Release : 2019-10-22
Category : Literary Collections
ISBN : 9780674242272

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On the Shoulders of Giants by Umberto Eco Pdf

A posthumous collection of essays by one of our greatest contemporary thinkers that provides a towering vision of Western culture. In Umberto Eco’s first novel, The Name of the Rose, Nicholas of Morimondo laments, “We no longer have the learning of the ancients, the age of giants is past!” To which the protagonist, William of Baskerville, replies: “We are dwarfs, but dwarfs who stand on the shoulders of those giants, and small though we are, we sometimes manage to see farther on the horizon than they.” On the Shoulders of Giants is a collection of essays based on lectures Eco famously delivered at the Milanesiana Festival in Milan over the last fifteen years of his life. Previously unpublished, the essays explore themes he returned to again and again in his writing: the roots of Western culture and the origin of language, the nature of beauty and ugliness, the potency of conspiracies, the lure of mysteries, and the imperfections of art. Eco examines the dynamics of creativity and considers how every act of innovation occurs in conversation with a superior ancestor. In these playful, witty, and breathtakingly erudite essays, we encounter an intellectual who reads comic strips, reflects on Heraclitus, Dante, and Rimbaud, listens to Carla Bruni, and watches Casablanca while thinking about Proust. On the Shoulders of Giants reveals both the humor and the colossal knowledge of a contemporary giant.

Author : Umberto Eco
Publisher : Random House
Page : 36 pages
File Size : 48,7 Mb
Release : 2020-08-13
Category : Political Science
ISBN : 9781473585485

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How to Spot a Fascist by Umberto Eco Pdf

We are here to remember what happened and to declare solemnly that 'they' must never do it again. But who are 'they'? HOW TO SPOT A FASCIST is a selection of three thought-provoking essays on freedom and fascism, censorship and tolerance - including Eco's iconic essay 'Ur-Fascism', which lists the fourteen essential characteristics of fascism, and draws on his own personal experiences growing up in the shadow of Mussolini. Umberto Eco remains one of the greatest writers and cultural commentators of the last century. In these pertinent pieces, he warns against prejudice and abuses of power and proves a wise and insightful guide for our times. If we strive to learn from our collective history and come together in challenging times, we can hope for a peaceful and tolerant future. Freedom and liberation are never-ending tasks. Let this be our motto: 'Do not forget.' 'He brilliantly exposes all that is absurd and paradoxical in contemporary behaviour. Eco's irony is disarming, his cleverness dazzling' Guardian

Author : Karl Korsch
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 190 pages
File Size : 48,7 Mb
Release : 1966
Category : Dialectical materialism
ISBN : UOM:39015021962454

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Marxismus und Philosophie by Karl Korsch Pdf