A Theory of the Aphorism: From Confucius to Twitter

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An engaging look at the aphorism, the shortest literary form, across time, languages, and cultures Aphorisms-or philosophical short 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 de

Reviews

"One of FiveBooks' Best Philosophy Books of 2019"
"Aphorisms come at us in so many forms and from so many periods that one might think an academic study of aphorisms would aim to give them a family tree . . . . But Andrew Huis new study, A Theory of the Aphorism: From Confucius to Twitter, does something oddly and interestingly different . . . . Once the reader accepts [his] more expansive and sombre definition of the aphorism, much of interest follows."---Adam Gopnik, New Yorker
"In A Theory of the Aphorism: From Confucius to Twitter, Andrew Hui makes a lot out of a little . . . . If you have a hankering for infinity, eternity, or inexhaustibility, this is a book for you."---Willis Goth Regier, World Literature Today
"Lovers of aphorisms will derive huge pleasure from this elegant and informative book." * Paradigm Explorer *
"This ambitious book explores some 2500 years of literature in under 250 pages to establish a theory of the aphorism. . . . Just as aphorisms rest on authority, not argument, so too Hui sidelines the systematic in favor of more aphoristic pursuits: to observe, pronounce, and artfully describe."---Stephen Kidd, Bryn Mawr Classical Review
"In my view, this book is groundbreaking. Theres an assumption in the way philosophy is often taughtin the West at leastthat aphorisms are a quirky, awkward bit of philosophy that well admit is there but we wont focus on. I think its time other philosophers started thinking seriously about how aphorisms work. . . . Its a really interesting and entertaining book."---Nigel Warburton, Five Books
"For anyone concerned with the humanities and their future within and without the academy [A Theory of the Aphorism] should prove compelling."---Lachlan Mackinnon, Times Literary Supplement
"In my view, this book is groundbreaking. There should be a lot of other books about aphorisms because its such a rich area."---Nigel Warburton, FiveBooks
"Like aphorism itself, Huis book is not bogged down with systematic argumentation, but rather proceeds in short sections that often end aphoristically. . . . Just as aphorisms rest on authority, not argument, so too Hui sidelines the systematic in favor of more aphoristic pursuits: to observe, pronounce, and artfully describe."---Stephen Kidd, Bryn Mawr Classical Review
"This book offers an engaging look at the aphorism, the shortest and perhaps most dismissed of literary forms. . . . A splendid, thought-provoking book." * Choice *
"A book through which Hui proposes a new reading of the aphorism and its history up to the present time, including social media platforms such as Twitter."---Petru Moldovan, Gnosis: Journal of Gnostic Studies

Author Bio

Andrew Hui is associate professor of humanities at Yale-NUS College, Singapore. He is the author of The Poetics of Ruins in Renaissance Literature.