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nyom7's review against another edition
4.0
Loved this book. Read the first essay probably a year or two ago and finished the rest off this week. First and third essays were I think my favourite. I will definitely try to be conscious of the books we take with us trying to tell if a unicorn is a unicorn or just a rhinoceros.
Entirely possible to read each essay in isolation so the perfect book to dip in and out of. You absolutely don’t have to be as well read as Eco is (I most certainly am not!) to understand it though I do recommend doing a little light googling as you go as it does a little more depth to your understanding of context and character.
Entirely possible to read each essay in isolation so the perfect book to dip in and out of. You absolutely don’t have to be as well read as Eco is (I most certainly am not!) to understand it though I do recommend doing a little light googling as you go as it does a little more depth to your understanding of context and character.
dcossai's review against another edition
4.0
Language creates. This much has always been obvious to human cultures; as Eco reminds us, it is through an act of speech that God in the Genesis creates the universe: “Let there be Light.” When God wanted to stop humanity’s ability to create and rival him, symbolised in the Tower of Babel, he chose to confound their language, their ability to create.
Language creates alternate realities of its own, and in this way can be used to make up false realities; “fable” in English, “fiaba” in Italian, and “ħrafa” in Maltese, to name a few, all have connotations of made-up stories. In his first essay, Eco explores what he calls The Force of the False. Much of human history directly results from the belief in falsities created by language, which in turn either results in the accidental discovery of factual truths (serendipities), as was the discovery of America, or bring about new historical truths, like the Holocaust. As the stories created by Language move to other cultures, and thereby languages, those other languages too create their own reality, modifying the truth of an orginary text with their false deviations which masquerade as the truth. In this way, the Force of the False continues to reign, inevitably directing our lived truths.
In his other essays Eco continues to explore the link between language, creation, and our beliefs and actions (political, historical, and otherwise). What language did God and Adam speak? Greek or Hebrew, some would probably say - but those are human languages. Italian, Dante would say - or at least such does Adam speak in the Divina Commedia. Ascribing truth to any of these created realities gives an elevated status to a certain language, with all the implications this Force of the False brings about in the real world. Eco reminds us how, in a similar historical situation, it was believed that “Greek man spoke the Language; the rest were Barbarians, that is, in etymological terms, those who stutter, who have no language.” The status of languages can have profound sociopolitical implications on their speakers, and so we form myths to elevate the status of our own tongue while diminishing that of the Other. By believing “the naive belief that one’s own tongue is the only existing and perfect one”, the Force of the False changes the reality of millions of people.
In his third essay, Eco explores the points of interaction between different cultures. This, too, is conditioned by the language or stories we have been reared with. We all have what Eco calls “background books”, the preconceived ideas derived from our culture’s stories that condition how we see other cultures when we encounter them (Marco Polo, for instance, was conditioned to believe in unicorns and therefore he mistook the rhinoceros for a unicorn upon encountering the species in an exotic land). In turn, this conditions whether we desire to conquer them (view them as inferior), to emulate them (view them as superior), or to engage in reciprocal exchange with them (view them as equals). The key to change, then, is language. These background books operate to a large extent through the Force of the False, and can sometimes lead to serendipity.
People, however, don’t only “see the unknown in the light of the already known”; sometimes, “something already known is reconsidered in a new and uncanny way in the light of an as-yet-unknown book”. The same text placed in a different context, perhaps with a new author’s name or a different title, or simply a different time and place, is received and interpreted differently. Every different translation of a text is received differently, and does different things.
In the final two essays Eco carries on the discussion about the search for the perfect language with reference to different thinkers. All in all, a short yet thought-provoking book about the power of language and the force of the false on history.
Language creates alternate realities of its own, and in this way can be used to make up false realities; “fable” in English, “fiaba” in Italian, and “ħrafa” in Maltese, to name a few, all have connotations of made-up stories. In his first essay, Eco explores what he calls The Force of the False. Much of human history directly results from the belief in falsities created by language, which in turn either results in the accidental discovery of factual truths (serendipities), as was the discovery of America, or bring about new historical truths, like the Holocaust. As the stories created by Language move to other cultures, and thereby languages, those other languages too create their own reality, modifying the truth of an orginary text with their false deviations which masquerade as the truth. In this way, the Force of the False continues to reign, inevitably directing our lived truths.
In his other essays Eco continues to explore the link between language, creation, and our beliefs and actions (political, historical, and otherwise). What language did God and Adam speak? Greek or Hebrew, some would probably say - but those are human languages. Italian, Dante would say - or at least such does Adam speak in the Divina Commedia. Ascribing truth to any of these created realities gives an elevated status to a certain language, with all the implications this Force of the False brings about in the real world. Eco reminds us how, in a similar historical situation, it was believed that “Greek man spoke the Language; the rest were Barbarians, that is, in etymological terms, those who stutter, who have no language.” The status of languages can have profound sociopolitical implications on their speakers, and so we form myths to elevate the status of our own tongue while diminishing that of the Other. By believing “the naive belief that one’s own tongue is the only existing and perfect one”, the Force of the False changes the reality of millions of people.
In his third essay, Eco explores the points of interaction between different cultures. This, too, is conditioned by the language or stories we have been reared with. We all have what Eco calls “background books”, the preconceived ideas derived from our culture’s stories that condition how we see other cultures when we encounter them (Marco Polo, for instance, was conditioned to believe in unicorns and therefore he mistook the rhinoceros for a unicorn upon encountering the species in an exotic land). In turn, this conditions whether we desire to conquer them (view them as inferior), to emulate them (view them as superior), or to engage in reciprocal exchange with them (view them as equals). The key to change, then, is language. These background books operate to a large extent through the Force of the False, and can sometimes lead to serendipity.
People, however, don’t only “see the unknown in the light of the already known”; sometimes, “something already known is reconsidered in a new and uncanny way in the light of an as-yet-unknown book”. The same text placed in a different context, perhaps with a new author’s name or a different title, or simply a different time and place, is received and interpreted differently. Every different translation of a text is received differently, and does different things.
In the final two essays Eco carries on the discussion about the search for the perfect language with reference to different thinkers. All in all, a short yet thought-provoking book about the power of language and the force of the false on history.
steller0707's review against another edition
5.0
Umberto Eco is best known for his book, "The Name of the Rose" which was made into a movie starring Sean Connery. He was, however, a literary critic and university professor. For this book, he has his philosopher's hat on.
It is a fascinating collection of five essays about language revised from lectures Eco gave in the 1990s. The lectures can be read separately, but they are related and make a good set. In them, Eco speculates on aspects of language, including the efforts over the ages to search for an original Hebrew, language of Adam; the evolution of language through misunderstandings, conquests and exchange; creation of a universal dictionary (much like the universal language of mathematics). Although there is much to absorb here, Eco's arguments are well laid out with broad cultural references, and beautifully written.
It is a fascinating collection of five essays about language revised from lectures Eco gave in the 1990s. The lectures can be read separately, but they are related and make a good set. In them, Eco speculates on aspects of language, including the efforts over the ages to search for an original Hebrew, language of Adam; the evolution of language through misunderstandings, conquests and exchange; creation of a universal dictionary (much like the universal language of mathematics). Although there is much to absorb here, Eco's arguments are well laid out with broad cultural references, and beautifully written.
breadandmushrooms's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
medium-paced
3.5
dalet3's review against another edition
4.0
Having struggled to get beyond the first section of this book for what is alarmingly revealed to me by Goodreads as all but a year, and then having completed it in the space of a day or two, my conclusion is this:
this is not a book to read last thing at night, first thing on a sunday morning, when drunk, ill or exhausted, irritated by children, employers or clients, or in any other way distractable from what is without doubt a mental task of no small order.
Eco is rarely light reading and this collection is less so than many of his others. In the right space however and with sufficient resources at hand he is, as always, delightful, hilarious, provocative, illuminating and persuasive.
this is not a book to read last thing at night, first thing on a sunday morning, when drunk, ill or exhausted, irritated by children, employers or clients, or in any other way distractable from what is without doubt a mental task of no small order.
Eco is rarely light reading and this collection is less so than many of his others. In the right space however and with sufficient resources at hand he is, as always, delightful, hilarious, provocative, illuminating and persuasive.
rogerb's review against another edition
challenging
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Hugh put me onto this when he introduced the "Aural" language one day.
It's hard - the only book on theological linguistic philosophy I have ever read, but Eco is wonderful, even in translation. Real food for thought.
Aural is Batshit Crazy though.
It's hard - the only book on theological linguistic philosophy I have ever read, but Eco is wonderful, even in translation. Real food for thought.
Aural is Batshit Crazy though.