eBook - ePub

Myth and Authority

Name: Myth and Authority
ISBN: 9781438490212

Giambattista Vico's Early Modern Critique of Aristocratic Sovereignty

Alexander U. Bertland,

352 pages
English
ePUB (mobile friendly)
Available on iOS & Android

eBook - ePub

Myth and Authority

Giambattista Vico's Early Modern Critique of Aristocratic Sovereignty

Alexander U. Bertland,

About this book

Argues that Giambattista Vico's early modern account of Roman mythology was a sophisticated attempt to present an epistemological and political critique of the aristocratic way of conceiving the world.

Living in a province dominated by powerful oligarchs, Giambattista Vico (1668–1744) concluded that political philosophy should work to undermine aristocratic authority and prevent political devolution into feudalism. Rejecting the possibility that the free market could successfully instill civil behavior, he advocated for a strong central judicial system to work closely with citizens to promote stability and justice. This study puts Vico in conversation with other Enlightenment thinkers such as Locke, Rousseau, and Mandeville to show how his alternative warrants serious consideration. In contrast to scholars who read Vico's New Science as a defense of the imagination, this study casts his account of poetic wisdom politically as an epistemological critique of the aristocratic mentality. Myth and Authority argues that Vico's depiction of pagan religion is a refined attempt to explain how oligarchy maintains its stranglehold on power. While Western civilization did not follow the path Vico suggested, it may now be more relevant as concerns grow about the increasing influence of the wealthy on civil institutions.

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Yes, you can access Myth and Authority by Alexander U. Bertland in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Philosophy & Italian History. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.