Kant and the Platypus

Kant and the Platypus PDF

Author: Umberto Eco

Publisher: HMH

Published: 2000-11-09

Total Pages: 480

ISBN-13: 0547563787

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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)

Kant and the Platypus

Kant and the Platypus PDF

Author: Umberto Eco

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 464

ISBN-13: 9780156011594

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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.

Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar . . .

Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar . . . PDF

Author: Thomas Cathcart

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2008-06-24

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 1440634238

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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.

Umberto Eco in His Own Words

Umberto Eco in His Own Words PDF

Author: Torkild Thellefsen

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2017-08-21

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 1501507141

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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.

Umberto Eco

Umberto Eco PDF

Author: Michael Caesar

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2013-05-29

Total Pages: 261

ISBN-13: 0745665942

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

The Infinity of Lists

The Infinity of Lists PDF

Author: Umberto Eco

Publisher: MacLehose Press

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 408

ISBN-13: 9781906694890

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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.

The Name of the Rose

The Name of the Rose PDF

Author: Umberto Eco

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 595

ISBN-13: 0544176561

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In 1327, finding his sensitive mission at an Italian abbey further complicated by seven bizarre deaths, Brother William of Baskerville turns detective.

Five Moral Pieces

Five Moral Pieces PDF

Author: Umberto Eco

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Published: 2002-10-01

Total Pages: 131

ISBN-13: 0547564058

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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

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