Kant and the Platypus

Kant and the Platypus
Author: Umberto Eco
Publisher: HMH
Total Pages: 480
Release: 2000-11-09
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0547563787

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)

Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar . . .

Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar . . .
Author: Thomas Cathcart
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2008-06-24
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1440634238

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.

Serendipities

Serendipities
Author: Umberto Eco
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Total Pages: 148
Release: 1999
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9780156007511

See:

Umberto Eco in His Own Words

Umberto Eco in His Own Words
Author: Torkild Thellefsen
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2017-08-21
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1501507141

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.

The Infinity of Lists

The Infinity of Lists
Author: Umberto Eco
Publisher: MacLehose Press
Total Pages: 408
Release: 2012
Genre: Aesthetics
ISBN: 9781906694890

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.

Umberto Eco

Umberto Eco
Author: Michael Caesar
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 261
Release: 2013-05-29
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0745665942

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

Five Moral Pieces

Five Moral Pieces
Author: Umberto Eco
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Total Pages: 131
Release: 2002-10-01
Genre: Literary Collections
ISBN: 0547564058

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

Kant’s ›Critique of Aesthetic Judgment‹ in the 20th Century

Kant’s ›Critique of Aesthetic Judgment‹ in the 20th Century
Author: Stefano Marino
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 400
Release: 2020-11-09
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 3110592819

Kant’s Critique of Judgment represents one of the most important texts in modern philosophy. However, while its importance for 19th-century philosophy has been widely acknowledged, scholars have often overlooked its far-reaching influence on 20th-century thought. This book aims to account for the various interpretations of Kant’s notion of aesthetic judgment formulated in the last century. The book approaches the subject matter from both a historical and a theoretical point of view and in relation to different cultural contexts, also exploring in an unprecedented way its influence on some very up-to-date philosophical developments and trends. It represents the first choral and comprehensive study on this missing piece in the history of modern and contemporary philosophy, capable of cutting in a unique way across different traditions, movements and geographical areas. All main themes of Kant’s aesthetics are investigated in this book, while at the same time showing how they have been interpreted in very different ways in the 20th century. With contributions by Alessandro Bertinetto, Patrice Canivez, Dario Cecchi, Diarmuid Costello, Nicola Emery, Serena Feloj, Günter Figal, Tom Huhn, Hans-Peter Krüger, Thomas W. Leddy, Stefano Marino, Claudio Paolucci, Anne Sauvagnargues, Dennis J. Schmidt, Arno Schubbach, Scott R. Stroud, Thomas Teufel, and Pietro Terzi.

Gone, But Not Forgotten

Gone, But Not Forgotten
Author: Phillip Margolin
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 436
Release: 2005-01-25
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0060737514

Betsy Tannenbaum, feminist defense attorney, is involved in the series of disappearances which are similar to those of 10 years ago, when the killer was caught-- or was he?