Possibility Of Knowledge Of Literature In Giambattista Vico’s Theory Of Knowledge

The18th century has been seen as an era of great transformation from the Renaissance and the Reformation to the Enlightenment in Western philosophy. In this era, theology had a weaker effect while epistemology and methodology stronger. With the significant development of human knowledge, skepticism and nihilism accordingly came into being. In order to oppose to skepticism and seek for certainty of human knowledge, a lot of theories were proposed by rationalists and empiricists one after another. At the same time, theories of natural sciences led by Rene Descartes and Isaac Newton had an overwhelming influence and even attempted to include human sciences under their methodology. Finally they aimed to construct a system to contain all categories of knowledge. However for human sciences the theories and methodology of natural sciences only concerned with the physical world and natural existence but lacked considerations of the mental world and existence of history and literature. So they separated from the unity of human experience and could only be treated one-sided. The new science by Italian philosopher Giambattista Vico was regarded to make compensation for this lack to some extent. Vico took literature in the form of poetry, mythology and allegories created by means of imagination as the core to study other human sciences, based on which he proposed that mankind indeed created the internal world while they came to know the internal world. Later Vico put forward the criterion of theory of knowledge as verum esse ipsum factum (the true is what is made). Vico’s theory of knowledge has been remarked as a milestone of epistemological foundation for human sciences to stand to natural sciences and study human mental activities. This thesis is going to verify the possibility of knowledge of literature in Vico’s theory of knowledge and then provide a new perspective and theoretical basis for researching the essence of literature.This thesis will verify the possibility of knowledge of literature in Vico’s theory of knowledge from three aspects. In Chapter One framework of Vico’s theory of knowledge is constructed. Vico first took the approach road of theory of knowledge by doubting and refuting the criterion of Cartesian theory of knowledge as clearness and distinctness of ideas and Cartesian famous conclusion’I think therefore I am’; then Vico proposed his criterion of theory of knowledge as the true is what is made, according to which epistemological foundation for human sciences could be provided because the human world was created by mankind themselves mankind could know the human world certainly. In Chapter Two the problem how knowledge of literature can be produced is discussed. Vico’s new science insisted that the research should be traced back to the origin of mankind and he found that the primitive people did not possess abstract philosophical thinking but vivid and strong sensations and imagination. Thus the faculty of imagination is the source for the primitive people to know the surrounding world. Relying on the faculty of imagination the primitive pagan nations created a large number of literary works such as poetry, mythology and allegories and they were expressed in metaphors. Hence by means of metaphors by making oneself the measure of the universe the primitive people created knowledge of literature. In Chapter Three the implementation of knowledge of literature is illustrated. One significant principle can be summarized from all the literary works created by the primitive people relying on the faculty of imagination and means of metaphors, which is imaginative universal. Vico believed that it was through the particulars of literary works that the primitive people expressed philosophical conception of genus or class. Meanwhile Vico considered that the poetic wisdom in his new science was established on the commonality of human nature for literary works definitely reflected necessities and ideals of all primitive nations. In conclusion, literary works like poetry, mythology and allegories were presented as a way for the primitive people to know the world, in other words knowledge of literature is verified possible in Giambattista Vico’s theory of knowledge.