Myth and Authority: Giambattista Vico's Early Modern Critique of Aristocratic Sovereignty

Argues that Giambattista Vico's early modern account of Roman mythology was a sophisticated attempt to present an epistemological and political critique of the aristocratic way of conceiving the world.

Living in a province dominated by powerful oligarchs, Giambattista Vico (1668–1744) concluded that political philosophy should work to undermine aristocratic authority and prevent political devolution into feudalism. Rejecting the possibility that the free market could successfully instill civ...