000 04417nam a22005415i 4500
001 182893
003 IT-RoAPU
005 20221214232010.0
006 m|||||o||d||||||||
007 cr || ||||||||
008 190708s1998 nyu fo d z eng d
020 _a9780231111355
_qprint
020 _a9780231500142
_qPDF
024 7 _a10.7312/ecou11134
_2doi
035 _a(DE-B1597)9780231500142
035 _a(DE-B1597)458825
035 _a(OCoLC)51952301
035 _a(OCoLC)979953744
040 _aDE-B1597
_beng
_cDE-B1597
_erda
072 7 _aLAN009000
_2bisacsh
082 0 4 _a401
_221
084 _aonline - DeGruyter
100 1 _aEco, Umberto
_eautore
245 1 0 _aSerendipities :
_bLanguage and Lunacy /
_cUmberto Eco.
264 1 _aNew York, NY :
_bColumbia University Press,
_c[1998]
264 4 _c©1998
300 _a1 online resource
336 _atext
_btxt
_2rdacontent
337 _acomputer
_bc
_2rdamedia
338 _aonline resource
_bcr
_2rdacarrier
347 _atext file
_bPDF
_2rda
490 0 _aItalian Academy Lectures
505 0 0 _tFrontmatter --
_tContents --
_tPreface --
_t1.THE FORCE OF FALSITY --
_t2. LANGUAGES IN PARADISE --
_t3. FROM MARCO POLO TO LEIBNIZ --
_t4. THE LANGUAGE OF THE AUSTRAL LAND --
_t5. THE LINGUISTICS OF JOSEPH DE MAISTRE --
_tNotes --
_tIndex
506 0 _arestricted access
_uhttp://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_16ec
_fonline access with authorization
_2star
520 _aBest-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.
530 _aIssued also in print.
538 _aMode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.
546 _aIn English.
588 0 _aDescription based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 08. Jul 2019)
650 0 _aIntercultural communication.
650 0 _aLanguage and languages
_xPhilosophy.
650 7 _aLANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Linguistics / General.
_2bisacsh
700 1 _aWeaver, William
_eautore
850 _aIT-RoAPU
856 4 0 _uhttps://doi.org/10.7312/ecou11134
856 4 2 _3Cover
_uhttps://www.degruyter.com/cover/covers/9780231500142.jpg
942 _cEB
999 _c182893
_d182893