|
| From the Tree to the Labyrinth
ISBN: 9780674728165
Platform/Publisher: JSTOR / Harvard University Press
Digital rights: Users: unlimited; Printing: chapter; Download: chapter
Subjects: Semiotics -- History; Language and languages -- Philosophy -- History;
Do dogs have "voices" or do they merely make sounds? What language did Adam speak in the Garden of Eden? Eco, the celebrated novelist and semiotician (Kant and the Platypus), muses on these and other thorny interpretive questions in this collection of essays on the history of semiotics and philosophy of language. Beginning with a historical survey of models of semantic representation, Eco develops the idea of the "encyclopedia," a labyrinthian system of interconnected relationships that he sees in opposition to the flawed Neo-Platonic "dictionary" system, one whose rigid absolutism and hierarchy creates a closed system that Eco finds untenable. Seeking to interpret the Middle Ages within such an encyclopedic model, Eco then explores a miscellany of medieval topics in the essays that follow, making the occasional foray into classical or modern thought. Though no modern writer has proved more adept than Eco at translating medieval ephemera to a popular audience, this is not the semiotician at his most accessible. Eco's erudition will make this text a challenge for all but the most determined nonprofessional-a working knowledge of medieval thought and a functional grasp of Latin are practically prerequisites for keeping up with Eco as he moves through centuries of history in search of new connection and meaning. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Umberto Eco was born in Alessandria, Italy on January 5, 1932. He received a doctorate of philosophy from the University of Turin in 1954. His first book, Il Problema Estetico in San Tommaso, was an extension of his doctoral thesis on St. Thomas Aquinas and was published in 1956. His first novel, The Name of the Rose, was published in 1980 and won the Premio Strega and the Premio Anghiar awards in 1981. In 1986, it was adapted into a movie starring Sean Connery. His other works include Foucault's Pendulum, The Island of the Day Before, Baudolino, The Prague Cemetery, and Numero Zero. He also wrote children's books and more than 20 nonfiction books including Serendipities: Language and Lunacy. He taught philosophy and then semiotics at the University of Bologna. He also wrote weekly columns on popular culture and politics for L'Espresso. He died from cancer on February 19, 2016 at the age of 84. (Bowker Author Biography) |
