Description
Book SynopsisGiambattista Vico (16681744) is best remembered for his major work, the New Science (Scienza nuova), in which he sets forth the principles of humanity and gives an account of the stages common to the development of all societies in their historical life. Controversial at the time of its publication in 1725, the New Science has come to be seen as the most ambitious attempt before Comte at a comprehensive science of human society and the most profound analysis of the philosophy of history prior to Hegel. Despite the fundamental importance of the New Science, there has been no philosophical commentary of the text in any language, until now.
Written by the noted Vico scholar Donald Phillip Verene, this commentary can be read as an introduction to Vico's thought or it can be employed as a guide to the comprehension of specific sections of the New Science. Following the structure of the text scrupulously, Verene offers a clear and direct discussio
Trade Review
"Donald Phillip Verene is the world's leading scholar in English of Vico, and his philosophical commentary on Vico’s New Science is excellent, exhaustive, even definitive. It summarizes, analyzes, and explains Vico’s extraordinary work in a more comprehensive way than other books on this major philosopher and human scientist. By offering clear explanations and informed analyses, Verene has provided a singular companion to Vico’s masterpiece." -- Donald R. Kelley, James Westfall Thompson Professor of History Emeritus, Rutgers University, and former Executive Editor Journal of the History of Ideas
"Vico's New Science is a book indispensable to anyone engaged with the collective intellectual life of Western culture. It continues to shape the study of history, linguistics, literature, rhetoric, anthropology, myth, religion, education, culture, and politics yes, all of these!. And if there is one book to read about Vico’s New Science, it is Donald Phillip Verene’s Vico’s "New Science": A Philosophical Commentary. Verene combines lucid explanation with expert knowledge and judgment. This is a complete, masterful treatment of Vico’s masterpiece. It covers difficult ground with great clarity and leads one back to its subject with fidelity, deeply assimilated scholarship, and wisdom. Anyone interested in humane culture will gain much from this volume." -- James Engell, Gurney Professor of English and Professor of Comparative Literature, Harvard University, author of The Committed Word: Literature and Public Values
"Donald Phillip Verene has proven mastery of every phase of Vico's thought, coupled with a deep interest in the classical and Renaissance theories of rhetoric that Vico drew on in the New Science. In this book, Verene's patient engagement with the whole of Vico’s text is beguiling, allowing the structure of Vico’s argument to emerge." -- Bruce Haddock, Cardiff University, author of A History of Political Thought: From Antiquity to the Present
Table of Contents
Part One: Generalities Concerning the New Science
1. Sense and Method of the New Science
2. Genesis of the New Science
3. Structure of the New Science
Part Two: Idea of the Work Introduction
4. Genesis of the Frontispiece
5. Structure of the Frontispiece
Part Three: Establishment of Principles
Introduction
6. Chronological Table
7. Elements
8. Principles
9. Method
Part Four: Poetic Wisdom
Introduction
10. Tree of Poetic Wisdom
11. Poetic Metaphysics
12. Poetic Logic
13. Poetic Morals, Economy, and Politics
14. Poetic Sciences
Part Five: Discovery of the True Homer
Introduction
15. Search for the True Homer
16. Discovery of the True Homer
Part Six: Course and Recourse of the Nations
Introduction
17. Threefold Structure of the Course of the Nations
18. Recourse of the Nations
Part Seven: Conclusion of the Work
19. On an Eternal Natural Republic
Notes
Glossary of Italian Terms
Key to English Equivalents
Chronological Summary of Vico's Life and Principal Works: Historical, Philosophical, and Juridical
Some Works of Secondary Literature on Vico
Index of Names
