Metalinguistic Negotiation in Vico’s Scienza nuova

The study of Vico is characterized by a rich variety of perspectives but also divergencies that constitute irreconcilable disagreements. Among these belong the interpretations of Vico, for example, as an “orthodox”, “anti-modern”, Catholic thinker, on the one hand, and as an “heterodox”, “modern”, Enlightenment thinker, on the other hand. This essay aims to explore whether Vico engaged in conceptual engineering, or, alternatively, metalinguistic negotiation. It takes up certain terminology and expressions in Scienza nuova that Vico evidently “appropriated” from other early modern thinkers and works and investigates the way(s) in which he employed them in his major work. Specifically, this is done with respect to key terms or concepts developed by Descartes, Malebranche, and Spinoza: clear and distinct ideas, modifications of the mind and occasions, and the order of ideas and things, respectively. This comparison is argued to bear directly on determining whether Vico is echoing these thinkers or disputing them.