Language, Philosophy of, European Philosophy - General & Miscellaneous, Rhetoric, Philosophy - General & Miscellaneous
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Overview
In this book James Goetsch argues that Vico's major work, the New Science, is a sustained, controlled poetic-philosophical meditation on the human world and that it is a philosophy in its own right. According to Goetsch, Vico proposes that we abandon the alliance between logic and metaphysics and instead form one between logic and the rhetorical and poetical conceptions of human understanding that inform the human community. In the way Vico revives the ancient sense of rhetoric found in Aristotle, who stated that logic and rhetoric are counterparts. Vico's philosophical system is best exemplified by the 114 axioms at the base of his New Science. These axioms, which range over a puzzling variety of subjects, do not follow a logical or geometric model in the conventional sense, making it hard to account for Vico's claim that he thinks in the "geometric manner." Goetsch asserts, however, that they are used by Vico to express what Aristotle called maxims - "thoughts worth thinking" - which establish the fundamental points necessary to speak about human realities. Once this becomes clear, we see that Vico's thought combines history, philosophy, and poetry in a comprehensive manner and gives us a new geometry of the human world.Editorials
Library Journal
Giambattista Vico's major work, The New Science, initially received little attention from European thinkers. It was only in the 19th century when writers such as Coleridge and Thomas Arnold became interested in it and finally in this century, through Benedetto Croce and R.G. Collingwood, that Vico's importance in philosophy was assured. Goetsch (philosophy, Eckerd Coll.) begins with an examination of the system of thought that underpins the 114 axioms forming the basis of The New Science, arguing against thinkers like Isaiah Berlin and Alasdair MacIntyre who see little coherence in Vico's "science." Goetsch argues instead that Vico "roots his science in the human world, finding his inspiration in a philosophical recovery of ancient rhetoric that is yet cognizant of the modern age." Goetsch's interpretation of Vico is certainly welcome in its attempt to view The New Science from a fresh angle and may well result in more new work being done on Vico's writings. Recommended for all academic collections, particularly those with concentrations in epistemology and the philosophy of history.-Terry Skeats, Bishop's Univ. Lib., Lennoxville, QuebecBook Details
Published
November 13, 1995
Publisher
New Haven, Conn. : Yale University Press, c1995.
Pages
190
Format
Hardcover
ISBN
9780300062724