Metalinguistic Negotiation in Vico’s Scienza nuova
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.6093/2284-0184/13145Keywords:
Vico – Scienza nuova – Descartes – Malebranche – Spinoza – Metalinguistic NegotiationAbstract
The study of Vico is characterized by a rich variety of perspectives but also divergencies that constitute irreconcilable disagreements. Among these belong the interpretations of Vico, for example, as an “orthodox”, “anti-modern”, Catholic thinker, on the one hand, and as an “heterodox”, “modern”, Enlightenment thinker, on the other hand. This essay aims to explore whether Vico engaged in conceptual engineering, or, alternatively, metalinguistic negotiation. It takes up certain terminology and expressions in Scienza nuova that Vico evidently “appropriated” from other early modern thinkers and works and investigates the way(s) in which he employed them in his major work. Specifically, this is done with respect to key terms or concepts developed by Descartes, Malebranche, and Spinoza: clear and distinct ideas, modifications of the mind and occasions, and the order of ideas and things, respectively. This comparison is argued to bear directly on determining whether Vico is echoing these thinkers or disputing them.
Downloads
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Horst Steinke
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish in this journal agree to the following:
- Authors retain the rights to their work and give in to the journal the right of first publication of the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons License - Attribution that allows others to share the work indicating the authorship and the initial publication in this journal.
- Authors can adhere to other agreements of non-exclusive license for the distribution of the published version of the work (ex. To deposit it in an institutional repository or to publish it in a monography), provided to indicate that the document was first published in this journal.
- Authors can distribute their work online (ex. In institutional repositories or in their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges and it can increase the quotations of the published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
