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A review by april_does_feral_sometimes
New Science by Giambattista Vico
3.0
Despite that this historic book ‘New Science’ by Giambattista Vico (written around 1744) is one which broke new ground in studying ancient myths, law, and history, I cannot get past his constant boosting of Christianity as being so clearly superior to all other religions especially since his belief is that the Christian God is real while these other gods are barbaric. Not, gentle reader.
How Vico can ignore the similarities of bibical myths along with the other admirable insights he gained through his academic studies of ancient texts from China, the Far and Near East, and the Mediterranean (Athens, Rome, Egypt) is beyond me.
Vico’s book publicized and synthesized, although he wasn’t the first to come up with the thought, the idea a people's culture is linked to their myths. He brought out into the light of day the idea Culture evolves. If we cannot understand the historical timeline and the cultural framework of a myth, it is because the culture is very different from the current reader's time. We need to try to understand the culture of a civilization to understand the myth.
Vico's idea of using architectural observation of ancient texts and cultural artifacts, taking these at their face value and applying it to conclusions of academic studies, was contrary to the philosophical thought at the time. Thinkers like the philosopher Descartes was positing only Reason was a valid way to know things about things, that culture was eternal and unchanging because people were permanently unchanging. Vico states there is no ‘universal’ culture because people were radically different in thought and beliefs in the past as demonstrated by archeological discoveries and texts. He thought civilizations went through cycles of evolution.
Gentle reader, I am only a retired secretary, not a philosopher, historian or scientist. If I have got this wrong, comment below and educate me.
There is an extensive Index and Glossary section.
How Vico can ignore the similarities of bibical myths along with the other admirable insights he gained through his academic studies of ancient texts from China, the Far and Near East, and the Mediterranean (Athens, Rome, Egypt) is beyond me.
Vico’s book publicized and synthesized, although he wasn’t the first to come up with the thought, the idea a people's culture is linked to their myths. He brought out into the light of day the idea Culture evolves. If we cannot understand the historical timeline and the cultural framework of a myth, it is because the culture is very different from the current reader's time. We need to try to understand the culture of a civilization to understand the myth.
Vico's idea of using architectural observation of ancient texts and cultural artifacts, taking these at their face value and applying it to conclusions of academic studies, was contrary to the philosophical thought at the time. Thinkers like the philosopher Descartes was positing only Reason was a valid way to know things about things, that culture was eternal and unchanging because people were permanently unchanging. Vico states there is no ‘universal’ culture because people were radically different in thought and beliefs in the past as demonstrated by archeological discoveries and texts. He thought civilizations went through cycles of evolution.
Gentle reader, I am only a retired secretary, not a philosopher, historian or scientist. If I have got this wrong, comment below and educate me.
There is an extensive Index and Glossary section.