Kant and the Platypus: Essays on Language and Cognition - Umberto Eco

From the author of The Name of the Rose comes this collection of six essays where Eco explores in depth questions of reality, perception, and experience. At once philosophical and amusing, Kant and the Platypus is a tour of the world of senses told by a master of knowing what is real and what is not. How do we know a cat is a cat? And why do we call it a cat? How much of our perception of things is based on cognitive ability, and how much on linguistic resources? Here, in six remarkable essays, Umberto Eco explores in depth questions of reality, perception, and experience. Basing his ideas on common sense, Eco shares a vast wealth of literary and historical knowledge, touching on issues that affect us every day. At once philosophical and amusing, Kant and the Platypus is a tour of the world of our senses, told by a master of knowing what is real and what is not.