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Serendipities - Language and Lunacy (Paperback)
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Serendipities - Language and Lunacy (Paperback)
Series: Italian Academy Lectures
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Loot Price R366
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You Save R72 (16%)
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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.
General
Imprint: |
Columbia University Press
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Series: |
Italian Academy Lectures |
Release date: |
June 2014 |
First published: |
June 2014 |
Authors: |
Umberto Eco
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Translators: |
William Weaver
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Dimensions: |
235 x 140 x 8mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback - Trade
|
Pages: |
128 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-231-11135-5 |
Languages: |
English
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Subtitles: |
Italian
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Categories: |
Books >
Language & Literature >
Language & linguistics >
Philosophy of language
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LSN: |
0-231-11135-5 |
Barcode: |
9780231111355 |
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