Editing Foucault's Pendulum (section)

== Major themes ==
Most books written in this fiction genre seem to focus on the mysterious, and aim to provide their own version of the conspiracy theory. Eco avoids this pitfall without holding back on the historical mystery surrounding the Knights Templar. In fact, the novel may be viewed as a critique, spoof, or [[deconstruction]] of the grand overarching conspiracies often found in [[postmodern literature]],<ref>{{cite journal |author=Hutcheon, Linda |author-link=Linda Hutcheon |date=Spring 1992 |title=Eco's echoes: Ironizing the (post) modern' |journal=[[Diacritics (journal)|Diacritics]] |publisher=The Johns Hopkins University Press |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=2–16 |doi=10.2307/465234 |jstor=465234 |hdl-access=free |hdl=1807/19215}}</ref> and indeed its very title may well allude to one of postmodernism's key exponents, [[Michel Foucault]]. Although the main plot does detail a conspiratorial "Plan", the book focuses on the development of the characters, and their slow transition from skeptical editors, mocking the Manutius manuscripts to credulous Diabolicals themselves. In this way, the conspiracy theory provided is a plot device, rather than an earnest proposition.

Belbo's writings are a recurrent theme throughout the book. The entire book is narrated in the first person by Casaubon, with brief interludes from the files on Abulafia. These passages are often eccentrically written, and deal in most part with Belbo's childhood, his constant sense of failure, and his obsession with Lorenza. The interludes from his childhood serve as a stark contrast to the mythical world of cults and conspiracies. Belbo is extremely careful to not try to create (literature), because he deems himself unworthy, although it becomes somewhat obvious that writing is his passion. This attitude of constant subconscious self-abasement fits in with the overall irony focused on in the book, considering that Belbo is eventually consumed by (re)creation of the Plan; one excerpt meant for the unattainable Lorenza reads, "I could not possess you, but I can blow up history."

Casaubon is a scholar: While Belbo seeks inner peace, Casaubon's quest is of knowledge. The uncertainty of scientific knowledge and human experience is explored in his character, as he participates in various extra-natural events. His narratives abandon his strict realism and become increasingly inclined towards the supernatural as the novel progresses, despite periodic reality checks from his partner Lia.

Mr. Garamond, whose primary business is selling dreams (through his [[vanity press]] outlet), comes to believe the fantasy world his authors weave. It is possible, though, that he had always been a "Diabolical", and founded his publishing business to fish for information.

Eco shows that if one stops discriminating between whether propositions are right or wrong, it is possible to link any fact or idea with any other, but that this creates a dangerous tendency towards conspiracy theories. As Diotallevi approaches death, he remarks: "I'm dying because I convinced myself that there was no order, that you could do whatever you liked with any text".

As Belbo approaches death, Casaubon remarks of him that: "... he refused to bow to nonmeaning. He somehow knew that fragile as our existence may be, however ineffectual our interrogation of the world, there is nevertheless something that has more meaning than the rest".

As Casaubon awaits death at the hands of those who incorrectly believe that he is withholding some occult information from them, he reflects that: "It makes no difference whether I write or not. They will look for other meanings, even in my silence".

Eco reinforces this theme by quoting [[Karl Popper]] at the heading of chapter 118:<ref>{{Cite book |last=Popper |first=Karl R. |author-link=Karl Popper |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/881026340 |title=Conjectures and Refutations: The growth of scientific knowledge |date=May 2014 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-97137-3 |oclc=881026340}}</ref>
{{Blockquote|"The conspiracy theory of society ... comes from abandoning God and then asking: 'Who is in his place?{{' "}}.}}

=== Societies in the novel ===
{{sister project
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|text=[[Wiktionary]], the free dictionary, has a [[concordance (publishing)|concordance]] of the 'difficult' [[wikt: Appendix:Foucault's Pendulum|words from Foucault's Pendulum]]
}}
A wide variety of organizations are listed in ''Foucault's Pendulum'', including the [[Order of Assassins|Assassins of Alamut]], the [[Bavarian Illuminati]], the [[Bogomils]], the [[Candomblé]], the [[Cathars]], the fictional [[Cthulhu]] cult,<ref>{{cite web |last=Aquino |first=Michael |date=4 September 1993 |title=RE: Re: Wewelsberg |url=http://bbs.bapho.net/bbs/l-drive/topicx/files/set/text/1993/set93252.txt |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719064619/http://bbs.bapho.net/bbs/l-drive/topicx/files/set/text/1993/set93252.txt |archive-date=July 19, 2011 |access-date=June 4, 2006 |website=Baphonet}}</ref> the [[Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (which in the novel Mr.&nbsp;Garamond includes in his list of "occult" organizations to contact about book ideas), the [[Elders of Zion]], the [[Freemasons]], the [[Gnostics]], [[Gurdjieff]]ians, the [[Jesuits]], the [[Knights Templar]], [[Opus Dei]], [[Ordo Templi Orientis]], Panta Rei, and the [[Rosicrucians]].