LEADER 04487nam 2200661 450 001 9910142532003321 005 20200520144314.0 024 7 $a10.7312/ecou11134 035 $a(CKB)111056485385908 035 $a(EBL)909175 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000244322 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11186379 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000244322 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10164780 035 $a(PQKB)11200869 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC909175 035 $a(DE-B1597)458825 035 $a(OCoLC)51952301 035 $a(OCoLC)979953744 035 $a(DE-B1597)9780231500142 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL909175 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10871730 035 $a(CaONFJC)MIL853922 035 $a(OCoLC)879945176 035 $a(EXLCZ)99111056485385908 100 $a20140528h19981998 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aur|n|---||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 10$aSerendipities $elanguage & lunacy /$fUmberto Eco ; translated by William Weaver ; cover illustration by Peter Bruegel ; cover design by Linda Secondari 210 1$aNew York :$cColumbia University Press,$d1998. 210 4$dİ1998 215 $a1 online resource (145 p.) 225 1 $aItalian Academy Lectures 300 $aIncludes index. 311 $a0-231-50014-9 311 $a0-231-11134-7 327 $tFrontmatter --$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 330 $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. 410 0$aItalian Academy lectures. 606 $aLanguage and languages$xPhilosophy 606 $aIntercultural communication 615 0$aLanguage and languages$xPhilosophy. 615 0$aIntercultural communication. 676 $a401 700 $aEco$b Umberto$0318813 702 $aWeaver$b William 702 $aBruegel$b Peter 702 $aSecondari$b Linda 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910142532003321 996 $aSerendipities$92481027 997 $aUNINA