The role of providence in the "New Science" of Giambattista Vico.

Abstract

The question of how to interpret the role of providence in the New Science of Giambattista Vico (1668-1744) is one of the most vexing problems of interpretation surrounding Vico's magnum opus. In this essay I come at the problem by attempting to understand Vico's theory of knowledge and how it comes to bear upon his interpretation of history. In chapter one I offer a phenomenology of the historical world according to Vico. I consider the problem of historical knowledge as such and attempt to show that Vico makes an original contribution by his insistence that we need to critically appropriate the historical texts from the past. In chapter two I explore some of the main features of Vico's epistemology. I then attempt to get more deeply into Vico's view of history by looking at him through important interpretations. In chapter three I discuss the interpretation of Leon Pompa. In chapter four I discuss the interpretation of Vichian epistemology found in the work of Donald P. Verene. In a fifth and final chapter I attempt to then make some determination of how providence functions in the NS. I seek to interpret Vico's providence doctrine as requiring a transcendental referent or God, based on the verum-factum principle as the central epistemic model. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)