Literary Philosophers: Borges, Calvino, Eco

by Jorge J.E. Gracia (Editor), Carolyn Korsmeyer (Editor), Rodolphe Gasché (Editor)

A provocative exploration of the complex relation between literature and philosopy considered through an examination of the work of three world-renowned literary figures.

Jorge Luis Borges, Italo Calvino, and Umberto Eco are as noted for the intriguing philosophical puzzles they present as they are for their inventive literary styles. Only Eco was trained in philosophy, but all three authors share a distinctive fascination with areas of philosophy not often broached in fiction. Literary Philosophers brings together a group of distinguished philosophers, literary scholars, and comparativists to explore and debate the relationship between philosophy and literature in the works of these briliant literary authors.



First published in 2002. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an Informa company.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published July 5, 2002

About the author

Jorge J.E. Gracia is the Samuel P. Capen Chair, SUNY Distinguished Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Department of Comparative Literature in the State University of New York at Buffalo.

His areas of specialization include Metaphysics/Ontology, Philosophical Historiography, Philosophy of Language/Hermeneutics, Ethnicity/Race/Nationality Issues, Hispanic/Latino Issues, Medieval/Scholastic Philosophy and Hispanic/Latino/Latin-American Philosophy. While Gracia's earlier work was primarily in the areas of Medieval Philosophy and Metaphysics, much of his recent work has focused on issues of race, ethnicity and identity. His contributions to the philosophical study of race and ethnicity have been groundbreaking. It is within this area that Gracia proposed his familial-historical view of ethnicity and his genetic common-bundle view of race. These views of race and ethnicity have helped to shape the field and addressed many issues that previous theories had left unanswered.