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A Theory of the Aphorism
From Confucius to Twitter
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Check link for latest rating. ( 56 ratings, 18 reviews)
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A Theory of the Aphorism
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
Ideal for readers fascinated by philosophy, literature, and cultural history, this book appeals to those who appreciate dense, thoughtful explorations of language and meaning. Scholars, students, and fans of aphorisms will find it especially rewarding.
An engaging look at the aphorism, the shortest literary form, across time, languages, and cultures
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
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Description
An engaging look at the aphorism, the shortest literary form, across time, languages, and cultures
Aphorisms—short philosophical sayings—appear everywhere, from Confucius to Twitter, the Buddha to the Bible, Heraclitus to Nietzsche. Yet despite this ubiquity, the aphorism is the least studied literary form. What are its origins? How did it develop? Were the enigmatic sayings of charismatic sages the original 'social media'? And why do some of our most celebrated modern philosophers use aphoristic fragments to convey their deepest ideas? In A Theory of the Aphorism, Andrew Hui crisscrosses histories and cultures to answer these questions and more.
Encompassing literature, philology, and philosophy, A Theory of the Aphorism invites us to reflect anew on the meaning of this pithiest of literary forms.
'The history [Hui] has written is devoted to something more like what we usually call "sayings"...Buy the premise and you'll enjoy the bit, as David Letterman, an aphorist of sorts himself, used to say.' - Adam Gopnik, New Yorker
'This book is groundbreaking.' - Nigel Warburton, Five Books
'Deeply informative and extremely lucid...Its ideal reader might have been Walter Benjamin.' - Lachlan Mackinnon, Times Literary Supplement
'Fans of dense brevity will appreciate that A Theory of the Aphorism is packed tight as a walnut...It is replete with small things.' - Willis Goth Regier, World Literature Today
'Irresistible...Lovers of aphorisms will derive huge pleasure from this elegant and informative book.' - Paradigm Explorer
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
"One of FiveBooks' Best Philosophy Books of 2019". Esteemed reviewers praise the book as groundbreaking, deeply informative, and elegantly packed with insight. Adam Gopnik of New Yorker highlights its engaging premise, while Nigel Warburton calls it groundbreaking. The Times Literary Supplement notes its lucidity, and World Literature Today admires its dense brevity. Paradigm Explorer finds it irresistible for lovers of aphorisms.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780691210759
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 17 November 2020
Country: United States
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Illustration: 15 b/w illus.
Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly
DIMENSIONS
Width: 140.0mm
Height: 216.0mm
Weight: 250g
Pages: 272
About the Author
Andrew Hui is associate professor of humanities at Yale-NUS College, Singapore. He is the author of The Poetics of Ruins in Renaissance Literature.
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