New Science (Volume 1 and 2)

Author: Vico
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: Vico attempts to explain in the book how humanity evolves from the age of gods, through the age of heroes, into the age of humans. Each of these three eras has its own corresponding different psychology, character, religion, language, poetry, politics, and law. However, on one hand, he believes that "truth is fact" and that "human truth is created and constructed through human cognition," with gods and religion being products of human imagination; on the other hand, he views gods as the ultimate creators of the world order, human nature as the foundation of historical progress, and religion as the driving force of cultural development, which appears somewhat contradictory and unscientific. Regarding how to discover the laws of historical development, Vico emphasizes the research principle of combining linguistics and philosophy. This book is a work of significant turning point for aesthetics or philosophy of art, but it has not been given sufficient attention to this day. This article attempts to explain why Vico was not readily accepted quickly, as well as some of his fundamental ideas. This book has been translated by the renowned Chinese aesthetician Mr. Zhu Guangqian.