Vico’s Social Theory
Vico’s Social Theory
The Conundrum of the Roman Metropolis and the Struggle of Humanity for Natural Rights
This chapter considers both the legal aspirations and jurisprudential works of Vico, and reconstructs his first full-blown account of Roman law and society in light of the jurisprudential tastes of his target audience, the leading members of the Neapolitan judiciary. It begins with an ample reconstruction of Vico's life and work between the publication of his last inaugural address, the De ratione (1709), and the drafting of his legal treatise known as the Diritto universal. It then identifies Vico's motivations for undertaking a legal treatise, and reconstructs the publication history and reception of both De uno (1720) and De Constantia (1721). The third section of this chapter reconstructs Vico's unique history of Rome, which made novel claims about the origins and laws of development characteristic of cities and, by analogy, world polities.
Keywords: Roman law, Roman society, Neapolitan judiciary, Vico's works, publication history, Rome, world polities
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