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Umberto Eco

1932-2016
Bologna

This work

Eco's Semiotics and the Philosophy of Language offers a systematic investigation of sign theory that moves between Peircean semiotics, structuralism, and medieval semantics. The book examines key semiotic concepts — dictionary versus encyclopedia, metaphor, symbol, code — while maintaining Eco's signature commitment to the 'unlimited semiosis' that prevents any final fixation of meaning. It stands as both a technical contribution to semiotics and a philosophical reflection on how interpretation is constrained and enabled by cultural codes.

Richard RortyEngaged with Eco's distinction between dictionary and encyclopedia in debates over interpretation, metaphor, and the limits of philosophical systematicity.
Susan SontagHer Against Interpretation resonates with Eco's insistence that semiotics must attend to the materiality and pleasure of signs, not just their decoding.
John SearleCritiqued aspects of semiotic theory from the perspective of speech-act philosophy and intentionality, engaging with Eco's account of signification.
Christine Brooke-RoseThe novelist and critic drew on Eco's semiotics in her experimental fiction and theoretical work on narrative codes.
Jonathan CullerStructuralist poetics and later work on literary theory engaged deeply with Eco's account of codes, interpretation, and the reader's role.

Semiotics and the Philosophy of Language

Umberto Eco

Begin where the book begins

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