New Science (Penguin Classics)

It’s easy to dismiss Vico’s New Science by pointing out what are now known to be absurdities: primitive men were giants, there was a worldwide flood in primeval times, the Jews had unique access to an accurate history of man’s origins.But it’s what remains perennial that’s so interesting. Vico was one of the first to realize that consciousness is not the same across historical epochs; with ramifications across law, ritual and language.For example, Vico argues that ancient men did not need to make much use of abstract reason. Hence we see the use of vivid sensual metaphors in Homer; there simply was no abstract language with which to describe his heroes. Or take his argument that, with little grasp of universals, ancient laws tend to pertain to the particular. It is only with the advance of time that the idea of a code applicable to all citizens became possible.The amount of documentary evidence Vico marshals shows that he bestrides the Renaissance and early Enlightenment. Many of the texts he cites were already in the process of becoming obscure. And yet, he points the way to scholars like Gibbon in using a plethora of sources to make inductive arguments about the stages of history.For all who study ancient texts, including the Bible, Vico is a must read. He helps to understand the seeming incongruities that the modern reader can experience even with the help of a good translation. His self-evidently true argument that a nomadic shepherd with minimal literacy would have a far different consciousness than a twenty first century adult raised with the Internet is the only way ancient texts can be understood. In the end, it is worth navigating through the absurdities to get to the insights which Vico was the first to articulate.

There aren't many books like this one. Vico mines history in his own unique method and style to compose a theory of civilizations, or what today is called the Philosophy of History.Several people asked where Vico is taught/who studies Vico. The Graduate Institute at St. John's College (Great Books program) studies Vico at length in the History segment, which is really Philosophy of History. The Great Books curriculum designers thought Vico was worth reading, and they were right. Also, the late philosopher Eric Voegelin wrote an essay in "Order and History" singling out Vico's work and advocating his "New Science." At Emory University Donald Philip Verene runs the Institute for Vico studies. There are also many collections of essays on Vico by both American and European scholars. St. John's College library in Annapolis contains a good number of them.Vico writes in numbered axioms and conclusions so he can refer to ideas numerically and connect them. The numbered ideas are not necessarily sequential but are connected around themes.There is a definite ending (in the Conclusion) regarding the culmination of civilization, which is what you want to get to, but without understanding how you got there it is significantly more hollow, so at least understand the trajectory of the earlier chapters first. To avoid getting bogged down or disoriented I would suggest doing the reading sequence listed on the St. John's College Grad Institute website. You can download the Graduate Reading List for History free. Remember to get to the end, otherwise you missed the big picture.

Although Vico's many absurd and thoroughly developed errors--such as the claim that drenching babies in excrement will cause them to develop super-strength--are indicative of his enthrallment by later Torah-based churches in occupied Italy, his speculations upon the metaphorical nature of human myth are worth reading. Unfortunately, because Vico has so very little to say, he turns what could have been a 20 page thesis into a swollen tome of repetitive Hercules & Homer references. As new Torah-based nationalisms replace older Torah-based sciences, though (e.g., Big Bangs being replaced by newfound Book-of-Genesis-based Christ-worship), it will be necessary to understand Vico's type of self-laudatory take on marriage, agriculture, and the church of Saul of Tarsis.

Bergin & Fisch provide a comprehensive, but non-exhaustive, introduction to Vico's work. Their contributions are as object as possible and do not interpret the work according to any opinion other than that Vico's attention to language should not be overlooked.Vico's text is presented in a clear and readable manner. Whether a reader agrees or disagrees with Vico, the New Science must be considered in any sincere study of metaphysics. To paraphrase Joyce: Vico makes me think, and imagine, when other sciences do not.

A neglected masterpiece of historical writing.

The media could not be loaded.  Absolutely disgusted to be sent a used book when paid for new. Needed for a holiday on Sunday so can't return either. Unbelievable

Finalizada a leitura, posso com segurança dizer que foi umas das mais desafiadoras que tive, especialmente pela lacuna de conhecimento de história clássica. Dito isto é disposta a pessoa a buscar as referências ausentes, será presenteada com inovadoras ideias e uma forma surpreendente de entender a humanidade.

Not likely an issue with Amazon but more with Penguin publishing. The book i got seemed to be of poor paper quality with faulty cutting of pages so that around 10-12 pages appear slanted. Still able to read it fine but still it’s a bit annoying.As for Vico’s work, incredible translation with excellent references and recommended readings to accompany one’s study of this great text

Vico's New Science: Principles of the New Science Concerning the Common Nature of Nations is a standard for anyone interested in Italian and Italian American Studies.

James Joyce used Vico's theory of 'ricorso' to structure the unreadable Finnegan's Wake. Being a history undergraduate I am, naturally, critical of the theory of 'ricorso' (a revolving or repetition in history) due to the fact that any teleological argument in history is both fallacious and better left to romantic non-historians. Vico was an obscure figure in his own lifetime; a teacher of rhetoric in Naples (not a high paying or illustrious job, strangely, despite the grandiosity of the title). He was a great admirer of Newton (I think he even dedicated this book to him... with no reply - prick!). Now for the book itself. Vico focuses purely on ancient history. So, if you don't like ancient history - do not buy the book. He separates ancient history into various 'ages' and argues that they essentially come round and then go away again like a sort of vicious cycle. But the book is more than a mere theory. It is, for a Latinist, a wet-dream of philology and using the evolution of language to attempt to get inside the mind of the ancients (for instance, he argues that 'urbs' - the Latin word for 'city' - came from a part of the tool used for demarcating the boundaries of Rome; he also shows that Jupiter comes from the words 'Iov Pater' - sky father - and uses this to show the pagan influences of language etc.) His arguments are convincing enough and very interesting; indeed, it's one of the few books where on every page something interesting imbeds itself into your mind without being obscure or unnecessary. His destruction of Homer (if I may call it that) is worth the price of admission; it isn't that he hates Homer or anything, it's that he is trying to show that the society of Homer, far from being a utopia of sorts as classicists would romantically believe, was actually highly violent and ignoble. I have only scratched the surface of this wonderful book in my review. Suffice to say if you are a classicist or ancient historian then this book is worth your money. Also, I think Vico deserves more attention than his contemporaries or posterity has granted him. He's a bit of a Cassandra figure: uttering prophecies which no one bothers to listen to until it's too late. Even if what he says isn't necessarily 'true' in the post-modern sense of the word, it will make for some fascinating, eyebrow-raising reading.