Unthinking Thinking: Jorge Luis Borges, Mathematics, and the New Physics

by Floyd Merrell

This authoritative study explores the scientific and mathematical cultural milieu that patterns much of the Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges's narrative design. Although criticism of Borges's fiction and essays has long emphasized philosophical traditions, Merrell expands the context of this interrogation of traditions by revealing how early twentieth-century and contemporary mathematics and physics also participated in a similar exploration. Topics treated include the semiotic flows of paradox and contradiction, the patterns of infinities, the limits of natural and mathematical languages, and the narrative function in scientific theory. Against this, background, Merrell provides incisive readings of Borges's complex fiction and essays.

300 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1991

Reviews

[Lilly.Whr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the use of generic feminine pronouns when referring to 'scientists'.