Yes, irrationality techniques. The Name of the Rose shows how not to solve a mystery, and Foucault’s Pendulum shows how not to create a mystery. (These are not criticisms; this is deliberate.)
ETA: The Holmes figure of The Name of the Rose is supposed to be William of Ockham (even though Eco eventually made him a different person to maintain historical plausibility), and he does his best to be rational in the context of his culture. Nobody in Foucault’s Pendulum is especially rational, as far as I can recall, including the main characters; but people do apply this or that valid method of reasoning, and the main characters are intelligent and discuss (among others) rationalist philosophers. May favourite Eco novel is Baudolino, which contains a rationally solved murder mystery, even though most of it is not rationalist at all.
Yes, irrationality techniques. The Name of the Rose shows how not to solve a mystery, and Foucault’s Pendulum shows how not to create a mystery. (These are not criticisms; this is deliberate.)
ETA: The Holmes figure of The Name of the Rose is supposed to be William of Ockham (even though Eco eventually made him a different person to maintain historical plausibility), and he does his best to be rational in the context of his culture. Nobody in Foucault’s Pendulum is especially rational, as far as I can recall, including the main characters; but people do apply this or that valid method of reasoning, and the main characters are intelligent and discuss (among others) rationalist philosophers. May favourite Eco novel is Baudolino, which contains a rationally solved murder mystery, even though most of it is not rationalist at all.
This is my favorite comment.
Thanks; although now that you drew my attention to it, I’ve added to it, and it’s no longer so pithy.