Book Review: The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

Medieval monk Adso records an adventure he had as a young novice traveling with William of Baskerville, an older monk going to an isolated Italian monastery to participate in a theological dispute that will have far-reaching consequences. Some Franciscans want to reestablish the hard-core poverty originally practiced by Saint Francis but Pope John XXII opposes this. He is one of the Avignon Popes (during the period when the papacy moved from Rome to France) and has more than a bit of corruption. Since William was formerly an inquisitor, he has both the intelligence and the wiles to discern difficult situations. The situation at the monastery quickly becomes much more difficult. When William arrives, a monk is discovered dead, possibly by suicide. He might have been killed, since the circumstances don't add up, so the abbot asks William to investigate. Another more gruesomely killed body shows up the next day, making the situation very perilous for the dispute (and the other monks).

The novel focuses slightly more on the murder investigation than the debate. Many clues point to a solution in the monastery's library which is large and labyrinthine. It's also off-limits to nearly everyone--only the librarian, his assistant, and the abbot are allowed in the library. The other monks who copy books have to request the tomes from the librarian. The monastery is famous for its book collection and has attracted monks from all over Europe. The layout and details of the monastery are presented in a lot of detail by author Eco, often in excessive detail. The factions around the debate get a lot attention too, something only partially related to the murder investigation. While these parts of the book parallel the murder investigation's labyrinthine search for the truth, they also feel padded out with the author's own interests. Eco adds a lot of Latin and a sprinkling of other languages, often without translations, making it more challenging to follow conversations. The languages certainly make it more atmospheric but also more difficult to read.

While I am glad that I read this, I did think it needed some editing to make some parts shorter (e.g., how many different real and fantasy animals were carved on the church's entrance?) and would have benefits with some footnotes for people who don't have a reading knowledge of Latin, Italian, French, and German. I don't think I will read it a second time.

Mildly recommended.

Book Review: Five Moral Pieces by Umberto Eco

Five Moral Pieces by Umberto Eco

Umberto Eco is most famous for writing The Name of the Rose, a medieval murder mystery in a monastery. He is also a professor and prolific writer. This small collection of essays deals with some moral issues in unique and interesting ways. Here's an essay by essay review:

Reflections on War--Eco argues that the nature of war has changed substantially in the twentieth century. Before, a war meant that two sides would come to blows along a front. The armies would oppose each other and one or the other country would be invaded. Other countries stayed on the sidelines, maybe making a profit on selling arms to one or both sides. In the modern age, transportation mixes citizens of various countries all over the earth--every country has ex-patriots from not just one but several other countries. Communications are so immediate that information about the conflict is available, often from both sides of the conflict. In the old days, nationalist propaganda kept citizens more or less on the same side. Dissidents were traitors who would be interned in camps or jails. Modern democracies are very reluctant to take such actions. Eco comes to the conclusion that the new concept of a "cold" war is a better way to create the equilibrium between countries--the battle lines are already blurred and the casualties are much lower than an all-out war with massive casualties, both military and civilian. I don't agree with everything Eco argues but this essay is very thought-provoking.

When the Other Appears on the Scene--How does someone who doesn't believe in God or a categorical imperative come to morally certain conclusions? This was the question put to Eco by an Italian cardinal; this essay is a response. Eco talks about "elementary notions" that all humans have regardless of their culture, e.g. we are erect beings so that we have a sense of up and down and being upside down is an undesireable situation for longer than a short while. He cites lots of other examples of solitary experiences that generate a sense of right and wrong with regard to personal freedom. Then Eco discusses social situations and norms (e.g. romantic or economic) that also ground judgements of what is right and wrong. He discusses this all quite persuasively without ever mentioning Natural Law, the theory that his idea is clearly based on.

On the Press--Eco provides a fairly interesting analysis of the state of newspapers in Italy (though the situation is mirrored in other countries). Once television news started, daily papers were no longer the first source of breaking news. In an attempt to keep readership, the dailies expanded their coverage to be more like weekly papers or Sunday editions, with a lot more fluff padding out the page count. That turn forced the weeklies to adapt as well. None of these effects have been good, as more and more papers become like USA Today (Eco's example, not mine). He provides some ideas to solve the problems.

Ur-Fascism--In the wake of the Oklahoma City Bombing, Eco gave a speech about Fascism at an American university. Eco speaks from his experience as a child in World War II Italy. When the liberation came to his small town, it was shocking for him to realize there was more than one political party in Italy and that love of country hardly had to equate with love of Mussolini. He then reflects on the nature of generic fascism (the "Ur-Fascism" of the title), which includes under its broad umbrella many characteristics that are mutually exclusive (much like existentialism, which includes both atheists and theists). He gives fourteen characteristics, starting with the "cult of tradition" and ending with "use of newspeak" which certainly appear contradictory. They are all potential danger signs for which we need to be vigilant. "Freedom and liberation are never-ending tasks. Let this be our motto: 'Don not forget.'" [p. 88]

Migration, Tolerance, and the Intolerable--In an essay stitched together from several other essays, Eco discusses the distinction he makes between immigration and migration. Immigration is a politically-governed activity where the person moving adopt the new home's culture. Migration is a natural flow of people where their culture is integrated into the new home's culture. Eco predicts (from the late 1990s) that Europe will turn into a mixture of the two. Some peoples will be subsumed by the local culture, others will keep apart and keep their own customs. It's the sort of social evolution that's uncomfortable for the locals and can cause strife and intolerance. A mature and discerning tolerance is needed. But how much tolerance? The final section of the essay discusses the case of Erich Priebke, a former SS officer extradited from Argentina to Italy to face a war crimes tribunal. He was let off on a technicality, which certainly seems like a travesty. The Holocaust was so barbaric and unimaginable that intolerance is called for. Working out how that fits with the earlier part of the essay makes for interesting reading.

Recommended. I liked the book but I realize that it may not be to everyone's taste.

Book Review: Art and Beauty in the Middle Ages by Umberto Eco

Art and Beauty in the Middle Ages by Umberto Eco

Quite often the middle ages are the forgotten link between the Classical period and the Renaissance. Moderns assume that Renaissance thinkers and artists rediscovered the works of ancient Greece and Rome and had this amazing and original break with medieval tradition. Umberto Eco (author of The Name of the Rose among other works) dispels this myth with this overview of aesthetic and artistic theory in the years from AD 500 to 1400.

Eco shows the classical roots of medieval theory and theology. Platonic thought was dominant early on, where his ideal world of forms was the standard by which beauty and artistic craft were measured. Aristotle was rediscovered during the middle ages; his systematic approach was assimilated and imitated by the Scholastics. The centrality of symmetry and proportionality for beauty began with Pythagoras's focus on numbers. That focus was re-enforced and enhanced by the biblical notions that creation is good (cf. Genesis's account of creation) and that the world was made according to number, weight, and measure (cf. Wisdom 11). The world is both good and knowable in a mathematical way. It conforms naturally to the transcendental notion of beauty--that which is seen as good gives delight.

The medievals had much more to say about beauty than art. Beauty is a property all things have, both things in the natural world and things made by man. Often, artistic objects were judged beautiful by their symmetry to the world of ideals or of nature. Innovations in artistic theory were rare but not unprecedented. The theoretical trend followed the cultural trend--the great artistic achievements of the age were the cathedrals. They were built by many and varied artists whose anonymity was assumed. The work was done for God, not personal glory. By the late middle ages, individual artists were becoming more prevalent and theories such as nominalism (like Duns Scotus's notion of haecceity or "thisness" as the core of being, making individuality more significant than conformity to an ideal) embodied this shift of emphasis.

Eco does a fine job pulling together various sources from almost a thousand years of thought. He is able to distill a great portion of the history of philosophy and artistic consideration in a mere 120 pages. The book is very academic but is also accessible and a good introduction to aesthetics in the middle ages.