''Serendipities: Language and Lunacy'' (originally published in English, translated by William Weaver) is a 1998 collection of essays by Umberto Eco. Dealing with the

history of linguistics Linguistics is the scientific study of language, involving analysis of language form, language meaning, and language in context. Language use was first systematically documented in Mesopotamia, with extant lexical lists of the 3rd to the 2nd M ...

and Early Modern concepts of a perfect language, the material in the book overlaps with '' La ricerca della lingua perfetta''. As Eco explains it in his preface, serendipity is the positive outcome of some ill-conceived idea."I wanted to show how ... false beliefs and discoveries totally without credibility could then lead to the discovery of something true (or at least something we consider true today). In the field of the sciences, this mechanism is known as

serendipity Serendipity is an unplanned fortunate discovery. Serendipity is a common occurrence throughout the history of product invention and scientific discovery. Etymology The first noted use of "serendipity" was by Horace Walpole on 28 January 1754. I ...

. An excellent example of it is given us by Columbus.." Eco U., Serendipities, Preface, p. vii

Chapters

#The Force of Falsity #Languages in Paradise #From

Marco Polo Marco Polo (, , ; 8 January 1324) was a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known as ''Book of the Marv ...

Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm (von) Leibniz . ( – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat. He is one of the most prominent figures in both the history of philosophy and the history of mathema ...

: Stories of Intellectual Misunderstandings #The Language of the Austral Land #The Linguistics of Joseph de Maistre In chapter 1, based on a 1994 lecture held at Bologna University, Eco introduces his thesis about consequences of erroneous beliefs. Chapter 2 contains essentially the same material as chapters 1 and 3 of ''La ricerca della lingua perfetta'', while chapter 3 is a reworking of its chapters 7 and 14(5). Chapters 4 and 5 have been published as essays in honor of Luigi Rosiello and deal with ''La Terre Australe connue'' by

Gabriel de Foigny Gabriel de Foigny (ca. 1630-1692) is the author of an important utopia, ''La Terre Australe connue'', 1676. Life All we know about Foigny, including his identity (the book was printed without his name), is based exclusively on the second edition of ...

and Joseph de Maistre's views as exposed in his ''Soirees de Saint Petersbourg''.

Editions

*Columbia University Press, New York (1998 - trans. William Weaver) . *Phoenix, London (1998). *Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London (1999). *Harvest Books, Fort Washington, PA (1999) .

References

{{italictitle 1998 non-fiction books Books by Umberto Eco Essay collections Italian non-fiction books Linguistics books book-stub