The Autobiography of Giambattista Vico

by Giambattista Vico, Thomas G. Bergin (Translator), Max Harold Fisch (Translator)

The Autobiography of Giambattista Vico is significant both as a source of insight into the influences on the eighteenth-century philosopher's intellectual development and as one of the earliest and most sophisticated examples of philosophical autobiography. Referring to himself in the third person, Vico records the course of his life and the influence that various thinkers had on the development of concepts central to his mature work. Beyond its relevance to the development of the New Science, the Autobiography is also of interest for the light it sheds on Italian culture in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

Still regarded by many as the best English-language translation of this classic work, the Cornell edition was widely lauded when first published in 1944. Wrote the Saturday Review of Literature "Here was something new in the art of self-revelation. Vico wrote of his childhood, the psychological influences to which he was subjected, the social conditions under which he grew up and received an education and evolved his own way of thinking. It was so outstanding a piece of work that it was held up as a model, which it still is."

Genres: Philosophy, Autobiography, Memoir, Italian Literature, 18th Century, Nonfiction, Literature

248 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1728

About the author

Giovanni Battista (Giambattista) Vico or Vigo was an Italian political philosopher, rhetorician, historian, and jurist. A critic of modern rationalism and apologist of classical antiquity, Vico's magnum opus is titled "Principles/Origins of [re]New[ed] Science about the Common Nature of Nations" (Principi di Scienza Nuova d'intorno alla Comune Natura delle Nazioni). The work is explicitly presented as a "Science of reasoning" (Scienza di ragionare), and includes a dialectic between axioms (authoritative maxims) and "reasonings" (ragionamenti) linking and clarifying the axioms. Vico is often claimed to have inaugurated modern philosophy of history, although the expression is alien from Vico's text (Vico speaks of a "history of philosophy narrated philosophically"). He is otherwise well-known for noting that verum esse ipsum factum ("true itself is fact" or "the true itself is made"), a proposition that has been read as an early instance of constructivist epistemology. Overall, the contemporary interest in Vico has been driven by peculiarly historicist interests as expressed most notably by Isaiah Berlin, Tagliacozzo, Verene, and Hayden White.

Reviews

[Lucija · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the second time I did an seminar research on this author. The first time he didn't leave me intrigued and when the opportunity came up, I choose this book as a seminar topic. Why? Well, I expected that I will learn more about him in a different way and that the Autobiography will be an interesting read. Still, I found this book a bit boring, or "heavy". I think it was ok.
Vico wrote this book as curriculum vitae for his New Science. It is a very informative work, like a sort of introduction to Vico's work and doing, but mostly he expresses his thoughts and the way of thinking: his influences, idols and the development of his work and thought.
Still, it's an unusual autobiography, written by a philospher, and very useful for students of philosophy and anyone studying Vico. It's a history of one mind.
A nice way to get to know Vico's work and maybe get back to it after reading his major works.

[Jude · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sly humble little autobiography. Son of a bookseller, lowly professor of rhetoric in Naples, Vico managed to intuit a response to the Enlightenment from the scraps of antiquity and sidelong glances at modernity. And always always piety and Plato.

[feifei · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I had a duck for every time Vico called himself "full of erudition" and for every time Vico said (of Descartes) "René did not understand..." I'd be able to repopulate the duck pond in 40 pages.

That said, Vico's autobiography is like an ouroboros: it documents his intellectual progress towards his brand of humanist thought, and that historical documentation is itself representative of his present thought. In this way the text wraps around itself and probably achieves Vico's goal of exemplifying the 'objectification of spirit' whereby he projects himself into the mind of his past self, and re-charts his life path from there. Interesting experiment though his life is kind of boring so it wasn't very exciting to read.

[Judy]

The introduction is still considered to be one of the first commentaries on Vico's work.
This autobiography was one of the first official ones. It was such a new genre that he wrote in the third person. He never mentions his marriage, or a passing reference to his children. He does talk about his own education and then his literary achievements. Perhaps he was focused on himself.
"His most inspired poem, 'Affetti di un disparato' reflects Lucretian moods and studies in the critical year 1692; it could not have been written by a devout Christian." p. 26 (Introduction)
"Vico says nothing of the Inquisition in his Autobiography, but his writings are not fully intelligible to one who does not bear in mind that it was active in Naples throughout his lifetime." p. 34 (Iintroduction)
"It is not possible to trace with any assurance the precise steps by which Vico moved toward a resolution of the conflict between his Catholic piety and his eminently secular if not heretical philosophy." p. 44 (Introduction)
At the end there is a continuation of Vico's biography, entitled "Vico's last years, continuation by the Marquis of Villarosa, 1818" in which he includes information about Vico's relationships with his children.

[Eva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ursprunget till självbiografin. Vico uppmanades att skriva om sig själv och valde att beröra sin 'filosofiska' utveckling, genom att se på sig själv i tredje person. Klar och tydlig stil.
Han beunrade Platon, Tacitus och Francis Bacon.

Fantasi, Minne, intellektet och fattnignsförmågan är oundgängliga själsförmögenheter. han talar om sinnet som Animus och Själen som Anima. Och att Animus påverkar Anima.

[lam_mindjin · Rating 2 out of 5]

the most boring person I have ever read about, no offense vico but damn! You couldn't make it anymore interesting. If I was ever given the chance to write an "autobiography" of myself in third person, I would at least tweak it here and there to make it interesting. Yes, you tweaked it a little by falsifying your birthday, but that is pretty boring of you.


update:
lol it wasn’t that bad, I was just pissed off I needed to lead a discussion with this book. There’s just so much you can talk about.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Acquired 1995
The Word, Montreal, Quebec

[Dominic · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great introduction to the work of this philosopher. It breaks down his thought into digestible elements and traces how his influence has impacted the modern view of history.

[Hanny · Rating 2 out of 5]

If Mr. Collins from Pride and Prejudice ("I sometimes amuse myself with suggesting and arranging such little elegant compliments") wrote a memoir, it would read a lot like this one.