Giambattista Vico

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

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Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/giambattista-vico

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. When was Giambattista Vico born?June 23, 1668
2. Where was Giambattista Vico born?Naples, Italy
3. What is the major work?Scienza Nuova (New Science), first published 1725, with subsequent editions
4. What is the philosophical stance?Critique of Enlightenment rationalism; proponent of historical cycles and constructivist epistemology
5. Who was Giambattista Vico?Giambattista Vico was an Italian thinker who lived in the 1700s. He was a philosopher, historian, and lawyer who loved studying stories and how people lived.
6. What did Vico say about how societies change?Vico believed societies go through repeating cycles called the ages of gods, heroes, and men. He thought these cycles help explain why cultures grow, change, and sometimes fall.

Rationalism: A philosophical stance emphasizing reason as the primary source and test of knowledge.
Enlightenment: An 18th-century intellectual and cultural movement emphasizing reason, individualism, and skepticism.
Constructivist Epistemology: The theory that knowledge is actively constructed by the learner, not passively received.
Semiotics: The study of signs and symbols and their interpretation.