Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2001 16:22:17 -0500
Subject: Re: <fwd> Umberto Eco on Reason in the Age of Terrorism


My Dear Umberto,

Your piece in Der Spiegel was of absolutely no help.  It displays the 
same self-righteous linearity which took possession of one of your 
previous ( well-intentioned) attempts to bring clarity to the muddle 
that befuddles our language driven world, namely "semiotics."  Look 
Umby, there are those of us who practice what you're preaching , and 
those of us who don't.  Those of us who do, don't quite believe what 
you're preaching, but we're good anyway; and those of us who don't, 
think we absolutely  believe what you're preaching and act 
accordingly.

So what's left?  To be good and practice philosophy on the side.  Or 
perhaps it's the other way around.

But do yourself a favor and admit that statements like:

As far as roots are concerned:  if someone were to ask me whether I would
rather spend my retirement years in a small village in Monferrato, in the
majestic mountain world of Abruzzi National Park or in the rolling hills of
Siena, I would vote for Monferrato.  But this doesn't mean that I consider the
Piedmont to be superior to the rest of Italy.

are simply false ( or else you're a bigger fool than I thought you 
were).  Of course you consider the Piedmont to be superior to the 
rest of Italy.  Why else would you want to retire there?(By the way, 
you should be happy you can make such choices!)

I for one thank my lucky stars that I am possessed of such 
prejeudices. They enable love, passion,beauty and all my other 
worthwhile connections to the world.  I guess you could say they also 
enable hate, but as I said, I'm made to be compulsively good, so 
"hate" doesn't enter into it.

Anyway, I tried to read your novel again last year, and still 
couldn't get into it.  I guess if I could, you and I would get along 
better.  But given that we can't, there's always philosophy.

Ciao,

Allen
-- 
  Allen Scult					Dept. of Philosophy
HOMEPAGE: " Heidegger on Rhetoric and Hermeneutics":	Drake University
http://www.multimedia2.drake.edu/s/scult/scult.html	Des Moines, Iowa 50311
PHONE: 515 271 2869
FAX: 515 271 3826


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