Books by Floyd Merrell

This historical overview of Mexico explores at every opportunity what it is that makes contemporary Mexico the fascinating and vibrant melange of cultures that it is. The Mexicans: A Sense of Culture captures and reveals the intriguing complexities of daily life in Mexico, from its artistic pursuits to its political and economic patterns.

Frontmatter -- List of Propositions -- List of Corollaries -- List of Definitions -- Acknowledgements -- Contents -- Introduction -- PART 1: "SYMBOL SYSTEMS" IN TEXTS -- PART 2: CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKS AND "SUBLANGUAGES" BEHIND TEXTS -- PART 3: HOW WE PERCEIVE TEXTS: STEPS TOWARD AN ALTERNATIVE MODEL -- PART 4: TOWARD A FORMAL MODEL OF TEXTS -- Postscript -- APPENDIX I: Toward a Typology of More-or-Less "Incommensurable" Systems -- APPENDIX II: Metaphor and Metonymy -- APPENDIX III: Catastrophe Theory -- References -- Index

The volume draws from Charles S. Peirce's pragmatic philosophy, as well as from diverse areas in contemporary arts and sciences, and certain facets of Buddhist philosophy- especially regarding notions of interconnectedness, self-organization, and co-participation of the knowing subject with her inner world, her socio-cultural world, and her physical environment. Contradictory, complementary, and coalescence are also fundamental watchwords, in addition to entanglement. 'Contradictory', since conflicts, clashes and inconsistencies there will always be, in spite attempts to resolve them. 'Complementarity', since poles of opposition can at least provisionally be resolved by mediation and moderation, however vaguely and ambiguously, such that consonance might emerge from dissonance, balance from imbalance, and accord from discord. And 'coalescence', since the union of disparities is an ongoing, and always incomplete, process; it is never fixed product. These concepts, along with the key word, entanglement, place Peirce in a new light, giving rise to new questions and possible responses from readers who are searching for alternate means of understanding in our increasingly complex, rapidly globalizing world.

Directed chiefly toward scholars in literary criticism and theory, Peircean semiotics, and, more generally, philosophy, this book is, by the nature of its broad focus, more descriptive than critical, synthetic rather than overtly prescriptive. Beginning with a brief discussion of Peirce and deconstruction, the author then turns to the relevance of current concepts in science and the philosophy of science as well as mathematics - especially G├╢del''s theorems. Subsequently, a series of "thought experiments" is used to illustrate that some concepts propounded by deconstruction are compatible with certain aspects of the "new physics." The notion of writing is compared to Karl Popper''s philosophy of science, and finally, a discussion of Beckett rounds out the author''s general thesis.

Unique among textbooks, Sobre Las Culturas Y Civilizaciones Latinoamericanas not only describes the history of Latin America, it sets a mood that allows the reader to get real sense of the languages, cultures, and civilizations that comprise this complex and colorful land. (TEXT IN SPANISH)

Following Sebeok, Merrell reminds us that 'any and all investigation of nature and of the nature of signs and life must ultimately be semiotic in nature.'

Focusing on analogical sensing, rather than digital reasoning, Merrell argues that human sensation and cognition should be thought of in terms of continually changing signs that can be accounted for in terms of topological forms.

This updated textbook describes the history of Latin America and sets a mood that allows the reader to get a genuine sense of the languages, cultures, and civilizations of this complex and colorful land. Each chapter offers lists of general concepts, important terms, questions, and topics for classroom debates.

A vivid cultural panorama of perhaps the mos diverse society in Latin America: Mexico

C.S. Peirce, the founder of pragmatism, was an American philosopher and mathematician whose influence has been enormous on the field of semiotics. Merrell uses Pierce's theories to reply to the all-important question: "What and where is meaning?"

Offers the author's reflections on Capoeira and Candomble, combining personal experiences with anecdotes, historical facts, and research as well as religious and philosophical interpretations, both Western and non-Western. The result is informative and entertaining, an analysis that allows readers to get a feeling, understanding, and even experience of the spirit of Capoeira and Candomble.