''Serendipities: Language and Lunacy'' (originally published in English, translated by William Weaver) is a 1998 collection of essays by

Umberto Eco Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian Medieval studies, medievalist, philosopher, Semiotics, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular ...

. 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 ...

and

Early Modern The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...

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. The term was coined by Horace Walpole in 1754. The concept is often associated with scientific and technological breakthroughs, where accidental discoveries led to new insights or inventions. Ma ...

. 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 Republic of Venice, 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 a ...

Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (or Leibnitz; – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat who is credited, alongside Sir Isaac Newton, with the creation of calculus in addition to many ...

: Stories of Intellectual Misunderstandings #The Language of the Austral Land #The Linguistics of

Joseph de Maistre Joseph Marie, comte de Maistre (1 April 1753 – 26 February 1821) was a Savoyard philosopher, writer, lawyer, diplomat, and magistrate. One of the forefathers of conservatism, Maistre advocated social hierarchy and monarchy in the period immedi ...

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 Luigi (; ) is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Part of Nintendo's ''Mario'' franchise, he is a kind-hearted, cowardly Italian plumber, and the younger fraternal twin brother and sidekick of Mario. Like ...

and deal with ''La Terre Australe connue'' by Gabriel de Foigny 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

{{italic title 1998 non-fiction books Books by Umberto Eco Italian essay collections Linguistics books book-stub