Description
Book SynopsisHow we create and organize knowledge is the theme of this major achievement by Umberto Eco. Demonstrating once again his inimitable ability to bridge ancient, medieval, and modern modes of thought, he offers here a brilliant illustration of his longstanding argument that problems of interpretation can be solved only in historical context.
Trade ReviewLush, comprehensive scholarship. * Kirkus Reviews *
From the Tree to the Labyrinth is a sort of
summa of one of our most important thinkers on matters of language, signification, and interpretation. It illuminates all of Umberto Eco’s earlier work by providing a great deal of the historical contextualization for his arguments. It provides important and fruitful ways of thinking about the organization of knowledge and of our attitudes towards it. It intervenes in a number of debates in the philosophy of language and in linguistics. It contains a myriad of insights on medieval thinkers, Kant, and Peirce, to mention but a few. This is a book that will enjoy a wide readership. -- Wlad Godzich, University of California, Santa Cruz
