About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press

ISBN-100226728269

ISBN-139780226728261

eBay Product ID (ePID)1225754

Product Key Features

Number of Pages288 Pages

Publication NameLogic and the Art of Memory : the Quest for a Universal Language

LanguageEnglish

Publication Year2000

SubjectHistory & Surveys / General, Logic, Linguistics / General

TypeTextbook

Subject AreaPhilosophy, Language Arts & Disciplines

AuthorPaolo Rossi

FormatHardcover

Dimensions

Item Height1.3 in

Item Weight23.3 Oz

Item Length8.5 in

Item Width5.5 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceScholarly & Professional

LCCN00-029873

Dewey Edition21

Dewey Decimal160

Table Of ContentTranslator's Introduction Preface Preface to the second edition I. The Power of Images and the Places of Memory II. Encylopaedism and Combinatoria in the Sixteenth Century III. Theatres of the World IV. The Imaginative Logic of Giordano Bruno V. Artificial Memory and the New Scientific Method: Ramus, Bacon, and Descartes VI. Encyclopaedism and pansophia VII. The Construction of a Universal Language VIII. the Sources of Leibniz's Universal Character Appendices I. The Liber ad memoriam confirmandam of Ramon Lull II. An anonymous vernacular treatise of the fourteenth century III. Two fifteenth-century manuscripts on the ars memorativa IV. Documents on the activities of Pietro de Ravenna V. Three late sixteenth-century manuscripts on the ars memorativa VI. Petrarch as teacher of the art of memory VII. An unpublished text by Giulio Camillo VIII. Memory exercises in seventeenth-century Germany IX. The article on 'L'art mnémonique' from Diderot's encyclopaedia X. D'Alembert and 'real characters' Notes Index

SynopsisA translation of this classic account of the art of memory and the logic of linkage and combination, the two traditions deriving from the Classical world and the late medieval period, and becoming intertwined in the 16th Century. From this intertwining emerged a tradition, a grandiose project for an 'alphabet of the world' or 'Clavis Universalis'., The mnemonic arts and the idea of a universal language that would capture the essence of all things were originally associated with cryptology, mysticism, and other occult practices. And it is commonly held that these enigmatic efforts were abandoned with the development of formal logic in the seventeenth century and the beginning of the modern era. In his distinguished book, Logic and the Art of Memory Italian philosopher and historian Paolo Rossi argues that this view is belied by an examination of the history of the idea of a universal language. Based on comprehensive analyses of original texts, Rossi traces the development of this idea from late medieval thinkers such as Ramon Lull through Bruno, Bacon, Descartes, and finally Leibniz in the seventeenth century. The search for a symbolic mode of communication that would be intelligible to everyone was not a mere vestige of magical thinking and occult sciences, but a fundamental component of Renaissance and Enlightenment thought. Seen from this perspective, modern science and combinatorial logic represent not a break from the past but rather its full maturity. Available for the first time in English, this book (originally titled Clavis Universalis ) remains one of the most important contributions to the history of ideas ever written. In addition to his eagerly anticipated translation, Steven Clucas offers a substantial introduction that places this book in the context of other recent works on this fascinating subject. A rich history and valuable sourcebook, Logic and the Art of Memory documents an essential chapter in the development of human reason.

LC Classification NumberBC38.R6713 2000