Summary
Highlights
Giambattista Vico, a Neapolitan philosopher (1668-1744), is a significant and original figure in philosophy, credited with one of the first original philosophies of history. His main work, 'Principi di una Scienza Nuova Intorno alla Comune Natura delle Nazioni' (Principles of a New Science Concerning the Common Nature of Nations), or simply 'Scienza Nuova', systematically studies history to find its laws and functioning principles.
Vico's 'Scienza Nuova' starts with a sharp critique of Cartesian rationalism. He argues that human knowledge is limited; humans cannot fully understand the natural world or their own intimate nature. True knowledge, according to Vico, is understanding the causes of phenomena. The 'Scienza Nuova' focuses on what humans create and produce, such as history, political communities, and laws, because humans can fully understand what they themselves have made.
Vico views history as a science, similar to how Hobbes viewed politics as a science. Just as Hobbes believed politics studies human-made bodies like laws and governments, Vico argues that history studies human events and productions, seeking to identify the laws and phases that govern them. This new science combines philology and philosophy. Philology reconstructs the customs, traditions, and cultural manifestations of human civilizations, providing factual material. Philosophy then interprets this material, seeking the underlying meaning and laws.
Vico's 'Scienza Nuova' is influenced by several thinkers: Tacitus for his objective study of man as he was, Plato for his contemplation of man as he ought to be (the ideal man), Bacon for his idea of a universal science encompassing all knowledge, and Grotius for his philological approach to natural law. These influences help shape Vico's comprehensive approach to understanding human history.
Vico introduces the concept of an 'eternal ideal history' ('storia ideale eterna'), which is a divine order or perfect history that humanity aspires to. This ideal history serves as a model or archetype for real human history. While human history unfolds in time with its successes, failures, and changes, it constantly refers to this divine, providential ideal. The new science aims to identify the laws of human history by referencing this eternal ideal.
Vico proposes three ideal ages of history that influence real human history: the Age of Gods, the Age of Heroes, and the Age of Men. These are successive stages. The Age of Gods is characterized by primitive humans, fearful and brutish, who experienced nature as fearsome divine forces. They sought protection from powerful, solitary leaders (monarchies), often seen as priests or kings, who possessed special knowledge or strength.
The Age of Heroes sees humans begin to emancipate themselves from the fear of nature and gods. They form communities (republics), governed by individuals possessing virtues like magnanimity, prudence, and courage—an aristocracy or nobility. Finally, the Age of Men is characterized by rational, mature humans who establish popular republics or democracies, where laws and governments are founded on common good and justice, not just virtue or fear.
Vico posits that history is cyclical, with nations and peoples returning to these different ages. Societies may revert to a state of fear, seeking strong leaders (Age of Gods), or choose enlightened minorities (Age of Heroes), or become rational and self-governing (Age of Men). Vico emphasizes that history is not governed by chance or fate alone; it involves both divine providence (the eternal ideal history) and human freedom. Human choices, even those with particular aims, collectively contribute to universal ends, driving history towards its ideal goals, a concept Vico calls 'heterogenesis of ends'.