Author: Herbert Molderings File Type: pdf Marcel Duchamp is often viewed as an artist-engineer-scientist, a kind of rationalist who relied heavily on the ideas of the French mathematician and philosopher Henri Poincare. Yet a complete portrait of Duchamp and his multiple influences draws a different picture. In his 3 Standard Stoppages (1913-1914), a work that uses chance as an artistic medium, we see how far Duchamp subverted scientism in favor of a radical individualistic aesthetic and experimental vision.Unlike the Dadaists, Duchamp did more than dismiss or negate the authority of science. He pushed scientific rationalism to the point where its claims broke down and alternative truths were allowed to emerge. With humor and irony, Duchamp undertook a method of artistic research, reflection, and visual thought that focused less on beauty than on the notion of the possible. He became a passionate advocate of the power of invention and thinking things that had never been thought before.The 3 Standard Stoppages is the ultimate realization of the play between chance and dimension, visibility and invisibility, high and low art, and art and anti-art. Situating Duchamp firmly within the literature and philosophy of his time, Herbert Molderings recaptures the spirit of a frequently misread artist-and his thrilling aesthetic of chance.**

Author: Umberto Eco File Type: mobi The year is 1327. Franciscans in a wealthy Italian abbey are suspected of heresy, and Brother William of Baskerville arrives to investigate. When his delicate mission is suddenly overshadowed by seven bizarre deaths, Brother William turns detective. His tools are the logic of Aristotle, the theology of Aquinas, the empirical insights of Roger Bacon - all sharpened to a glistening edge by wry humor and a ferocious curiosity. He collects evidence, deciphers secret symbols and coded manuscripts, and digs into the eerie labyrinth of the abbey, where the most interesting things happen at night.

Author: Stephen R. Anderson File Type: pdf Dr. Dolittle had it wrong, says the author of this fascinating book animals cannot use language. Stephen Anderson explains the difference between communication and language and shows that animals do not have the cognitive capacities necessary to acquire language.A masterly overview of what is currently known about the communicative abilities of a wide range of creatures. . . . Andersons synthesis provides illuminating comparisons with the infinitely more sophisticated resources of the human language. . . . An elegant book.Neil Smith, NatureWell-written, well-argued, and provocative. . . . I enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone interested in animal communication and the evolution of language.Marc Bekoff, Quarterly Review of BiologyFrom Publishers WeeklyHugh Loftings storybooks about a British doctor who could speak to animals have been classics almost since they first appeared in 1920. Anderson, a linguistics and cognitive psychology professor at Yale, doesnt dispute the literary merits of Loftings work, but he does want to establish that Doctor Dolittles talent is all fiction. Anderson makes a careful argument to defend this conclusion, methodically examining what we actually know about animal communication and simultaneously building up a case for what makes human language unique. He revisits the usual discussions about animals abilities, from the intricate dance of honeybees to the warning calls of vervet monkeys and the sign language learned by lab chimpanzees. His lengthy chapter on syntax is fairly technical and may be difficult for lay readers to navigate, but Anderson does his best to make this arcane subject intelligible because it forms the crux of his book he identifies syntax as the essence of language, the primary barrier that animals cant surmount. In reviewing previous claims that animals have language, he insists on the distinction between language and communicationsometimes a fine difference that appears to necessitate lengthy, confusing explanations that incorporate physics, biology and language theory. Despite its use of enlightening examples and fascinating details of animal behavior, this book is best suited for students of psychology and linguistics. But anyone interested enough in the subject to work through it will find a skillfully made case that even devoted animal admirers might find hard to dismiss. Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. ReviewA masterly overview of what is currently known about the communicative abilities of a wide range of creatures... Andersons synthesis provides illuminating comparisons with the infinitely more sophisticated resources of the human language. An elegant book. Neil Smith, Nature Well-written, well-argued, and provocative... I enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone interested in animal communication and the evolution of language. Marc Bekoff, Quarterly Review of Biology

Author: Stathis Psillos File Type: pdf ReviewA CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title With a distinguished list of internationally renowned contributors, an excellent choice of topics in the field, and well-written, well-edited essays throughout, this compendium is an excellent resource. It will work well for any serious scholar inside or outside the field interested in the current state of philosophy of science. Highly recommended. - CHOICEHighly recommended for history of science and philosophy collections. Library Journal This well conceived companion, which brings together an impressive collection of distinguished authors, will be invaluable to novices and experience readers alike. - MetascienceHere is philosophy of science the way it should be. In these pages some of the very best philosophers working today grapple with the big issues of metaphysics, language, and epistemology as they relate to science. This volume is a true introduction to a philosophy of science that has real stature a philosophy of science that puts the subject at the crossing point of arguments from across the intellectual landscape. - Peter Galison, Harvard University, USAThis is an outstanding companion. With over fifty chapters by uniformly distinguished contributors, it offers a stimulating and often original introduction to every facet of the subject. There is no better guide to the philosophy of science on the market. - David Papineau, Kings College London, UKThis well conceived and comprehensive volume brings together a remarkable collection of authors, including many of the leading contemporary contributors to the philosophy of science. It will be of great value to students of the philosophy of science at all levels. - John Dupre, University of Exeter, UKAbout the AuthorUniversity of Athens, Greece Purdue University, USA ReviewA CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title With a distinguished list of internationally renowned contributors, an excellent choice of topics in the field, and well-written, well-edited essays throughout, this compendium is an excellent resource. It will work well for any serious scholar inside or outside the field interested in the current state of philosophy of science. Highly recommended. - CHOICEHighly recommended for history of science and philosophy collections. Library Journal This well conceived companion, which brings together an impressive collection of distinguished authors, will be invaluable to novices and experience readers alike. - MetascienceHere is philosophy of science the way it should be. In these pages some of the very best philosophers working today grapple with the big issues of metaphysics, language, and epistemology as they relate to science. This volume is a true introduction to a philosophy of science that has real stature a philosophy of science that puts the subject at the crossing point of arguments from across the intellectual landscape. - Peter Galison, Harvard University, USAThis is an outstanding companion. With over fifty chapters by uniformly distinguished contributors, it offers a stimulating and often original introduction to every facet of the subject. There is no better guide to the philosophy of science on the market. - David Papineau, Kings College London, UKThis well conceived and comprehensive volume brings together a remarkable collection of authors, including many of the leading contemporary contributors to the philosophy of science. It will be of great value to students of the philosophy of science at all levels. - John Dupre, University of Exeter, UKAbout the AuthorUniversity of Athens, Greece Purdue University, USA This indispensable reference source and guide to the major themes, debates, problems and topics in philosophy of science contains fifty-five specially commissioned entries by a leading team of international contributors. Organized into four parts it covershistorical and philosophical contextdebatesconceptsthe individual sciences.The Companion covers everything students of philosophy of science need to know - from empiricism, explanation and experiment to causation, observation, prediction and more - and contains many helpful features including a section on the individual sciences, including chapters on the philosophy of biology, chemistry, physics and psychology, further reading and cross-referencing at the end of each chapter.