Vico Philosophy Of Education Research

There are two parallel lines that guide through the paper, one is the development of the thoughts of philosophy of Vico as a whole, and another is the development of his philosophy of education. The paper tries to observe the thoughts of Vico as a whole from the point of philosophy of education in order to find out the radical intention of Vico, and at the same time, to make out what is the content and substance of Vico's thoughts on philosophy of education.The paper thinks that there are two basic questions in Vico's philosophy of education: one is how to realize the "natura hominis" or "humanitas", and then how to carry out the "eductio civilis" in the modern "societas civilis"? Another question is, if "homo" is become "homo" by means of "eductio", how can the primary "eductio humana" have its beginning and how can the human society be born, and how does the "natura humana" and the human society advance itself? The first is a question of "scientia civilis" and "eductio civilis", and since Vico consider it from the order of individual education, so we call the philosophy of education in this stage the theory of individual education; the second is a question of educational anthropology, and since Vico consider it from the order of national education, so we say this is Vico's theory of national education.Whatever the answer is to both the questions, Vico is never separated from the political philosophy of Plato. It can be said that the Plato's political philosophy is the soul of Vico. But, however Vico resolves the two problems, he must go beyond Plato. For the first question, Vico takes up the spirit of Plato to guide the modern society and the according "eductio civilis"; and at the same time, Vico must transform the thoughts of Plato on the basis of the modern civil society and its civil education. In Vico's series of augural orations and the de antiquissima italorum sapientia, Vico develops a series of basic principles of "eductio civilis": the principle of humanity o "natura hominis", the principle of "sapientia integra", the principle of "civilitas", the principle of "facultas" and "ingenium", and at last, the principle of the natural order of human education. On the basis of these principles, Vico has examined the antique and the modern science and arts as a whole of sapientia, and first in the seventh speech he makes a critic of Descartes' methodology, then in his de antiquissima italorum sapientia a deeper critic of Descartes' metaphysics including the idea of truth, the ideaof knowledge and the idea of faculty, and in this way, Vico develops his own peculiar metaphysics and philosophy of education. He criticizes the Descartes' method of criticism, of analysis and of deduction, and founds his own methodology, according to which, the topics is prior to the criticism, the synthesis is prior to analysis, the induction is prior to deduction, and at last, the mens humana should form a iudicium integrum. He criticizes Descartes' dogmatic opinion about truth and about knowledge, and establishes his own new theory of truth and knowledge, in which the verum is convertible with the factum. He criticizes Descartes' opinion about human faculty, according to which the reflection is preferred and the reason is the unique thing worth to follow, however he discovers the new theory of faculty, with this theory, he thinks that every kind of faculty makes its according object, and the fundamental human faculty is the ingenium. Thus Vico's methodology, principle of truth, of knowledge and of faculty is unified on the basis of this principle: "verum et factum convertuntur."This principle is not only a metaphysical principle, but also a principle of philosophy of education. At the same time, these principles are connected with Plato's political philosophy and metaphysics, and with which, Vico forms the theory of how to carry out the civil education in the modern civil society. So as Vico says, it's enough to add Plato to the modern sciences and arts.With his new metaphysics, Vico illuminates the classical philology and roman laws that he has penetrated up to now. On the basis of the principle of "verum et factum convertuntur", he find another principle, that is, principium itself is the origin and the nature, and the nature is how a thing is born. With these two principles, it's possible for Vico to find the origin i.e. the principle of human society and human education. The early principles of human education are restored in the "new science" but with wholly new meaning because of the two principles as said. But this time he uses his new principle of truth (verum et factum convertuntur in historia humana), his new criticism (sensus communis) and his new philology (ditionario mentale), and on the basis of his new discoveries of the common nature of human mind and of the common nature of human itself, he takes the development of humanity and the human education in the universal history of the nations and the whole society as object, and discovered the nature, the interrelations and the order of changing in different aspects of the human society, for example, religion, morality, economics and politics etc. As for Vico's unique discovery, that is the sapientia poetica in the ancient society, which is their mode of making, knowing and educating. As it is concerned to our topic, thatis the educational nature and function of religion, of morality, of economics and of politics, and accordingly the religious nature, the moral nature, the economic nature and the political nature of human education. However all these things are poetic and sensitive topics. When we talk about the order of changing of the human society and the human education, we refer to the circle of three stages: the time of the gods, the time of the heroes, and the time of human. As for our topic, we can say that these stages represent the primary birth, the primary formation and the primary maturity of humanity. From the point of politics, the first stage is the family government, the second noble, and the third democratic. From he point of civil education, the first is paternal, the second pater-civilis, and the third homo-civilis. The fundamental mode of education is poetic imitation but not reflection and reason, the authority of pater is a kind of imitation of that of the god, the noble authority is the conflict and imitation between the pater, and the civilis authority is an imitation of the noble right by every human. This kind of imitation is a necessary process of history, and in the end it must lead to the birth and maturity of civil society. But the conflict and imitation of the cives must at last lead to the monarchy of civil society, in order to resolve the anarchy of civil society. But perhaps it can be avoided because of the perfection of the democracy of modern civil society.At last, when we consider both the interrelated questions between the two parts of text of Vico, we can find a new field of thoughts, that is, since we judge that our time is a reasonable human time, so the principal question is, how to maintain and develop our mature civilitas, and not to fall into the third o forth barbarism? The key point is human education. On the other hand, we must understand the origin and principle of human society and human education under the guide of human education of the spirit, i.e. we must return to the eternal platonic political philosophy. So we can say Vico's ground line is humanitas, eductio, civilitas and historia.Perhaps the more important thing is the great contemporary significance of Vico's philosophy of education to our contemporary humankind. Our time is already fallen into what Vico said reasonable barbarism. Our educational system is not delimitating but reinforcing this tendency ever since Descartes and our time is not realizing and curing but encouraging and developing this spirit. But Vico had already realized the defects before Descartes brought us to this and had advanced many thoughts and methods to cure them. So we can't let our health of spirit fall any more. And this is the significance of Vico's philosophy of education for us.