Vico and Polish Humanist in the Enlightenment

• Authors: Lysiak-Latkowska A.
• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

Giambattista Vico undertook to confront the linear Christian conception of history conceived as a cumulative decline initiated by original sin with his own conception of 'corsi-ricorsi', i.e. a series of episodes of growth and fall of civilizations. Vico believed in perfectibility of human relations in spite of the weakness of human nature and in the inevitable cultural renaissance that emerges after every period of regression. The recurrent improvements are possible because human individuals are the ultimate creators of the world they inhabit, he thought. They could make the world a better place by using typically human powers, the ability to harness the forces of nature, to change the sense of time and space, to transform their surroundings by toil and ingenuity, by concerted efforts in artistic production, by verbalization of the contents of their minds, and by better communication and cultivation of symbols. The authoress tries to trace these motifs in the thought of S. Staszic, H. Kollataj, K. Skrzetuski, F. Golinski. She shows that Vico's influence was indirect and fragmentary, but it helped the Polish humanists to sort out elements of myth and science in the description of history. But unlike Vico, the humanists in Poland made ample use of the concepts of revelation and providence. Some of them also retained the belief in the ideal state of human affairs in the golden age that predated history, and from time to time they suggested that divine powers directly interfered with the course of human affairs. At the same time, they followed Vico in the narrative style which emphasized the inspirational role of education in the effort to endow particular epochs of history with specific meaning and purposes, like, for instance the belief in the recurrence of the age of heroes. They also shared Vico's general assumptions about the creative power of culture and the capability of human society to improve its level of knowledge, understanding and industry.

Keywords

EN

VICO GIAMBATTISTA (INFLUENCE ON POLISH HUMANISTS)

Discipline

• PHILOSOPHY: PHILOSOPHY

• Publisher: Polska Akademia Nauk
• Journal: Przegląd Filozoficzny. Nowa Seria
• Year: 2006
• Volume: 15
• Issue: 2(58)
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Lysiak-Latkowska A.

• A. Lysiak-Latkowska, Uniwersytet Gdanski, Instytut Historii, ul. W. Stwosza 55, 80-952 Gdansk, Poland

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

07PLAAAA02414998