Vico's Cultural History: The Production and Transmission of Ideas in Naples, 1685-1750 (Brill's Studies in Intellectual History)

A study of the cultural world of Giambattista Vico, one of the most creative social theorists of the eighteenth century. Based on extensive manuscript as well as printed materials, and relying on the methods of book and publishing history, this volume describes Vico's intellectual community. Special attention is paid to the interaction between scholars and Naples' vibrant operatic and artistic community. The first part of the book investigates a controversy concerning an inquisitorial investigation, Neapolitan travel literature, the papers of a scientific academy, and the patronage system for book publication. The second part describes the cultural context of Vico's writings and especially the three editions of The New Science . This work explains the accomplishments that made Naples one of the great cultural centers of the early Enlightenment. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS INTRODUCTION CHAPTER ONE. PRINTING AND READING IN NAPLES IN THE LATE 1680S CHAPTER TWO. THE INDEX AND THE ATOMISTS CHAPTER THREE. THE WAR BETWEEN THE ANCIENTS AND THE MODERNS: THE NEAPOLITAN FRONT CHAPTER FOUR. NEW PUBLICATIONS IN THE 1690s: TRAVEL LITERATURE AND CELEBRATORY VERSE CHAPTER FIVE. THE ACADEMY FOUNDED BY MEDINA COELI CHAPTER SIX. THE END OF SPANISH HAPSBURG RULE IN NAPLES CHAPTER SEVEN. THE AUSTRIAN INVASION OF NAPLES OF 1707 CHAPTER EIGHT AN ITALIAN PERSPECTIVE ON NEAPOLITAN PUBLISHING AND THINKING CHAPTER NINE. VICO'S FIRST PUBLISHED SCHOLARLY WORKS AND HIS FRIENDSHIP WITH DORIA CHAPTER TEN. PRINTING FOR THE DIFFERENT READING PUBLICS IN NAPLES CHAPTER ELEVEN. THE NEW STYLE OF VINCI AND THE NEW SCIENCE OF VICO CHAPTER TWELVE. BOOKSELLERS AND READERS: NEWTONIANS AND THE HISTORY OF RELIGION CHAPTER THIRTEEN. CODAS AND LAST WORKS INDEX OF MANUSCRIPTS INDEX OF PRIMARY MATERIAL INDEXOF MODERN SOURCES This book is a study of the cultural world of Giambattista Vico, one of the most creative social theorists of the eighteenth century. Based on extensive manuscript as well as printed materials, and relying on the methods of book and publishing history, this volume describes Vico's intellectual community. Special attention is paid to the interaction between scholars and Naples' vibrant operatic and artistic community. The first part of the book investigates a controversy concerning an inquisitorial investigation, Neapolitan travel literature, the papers of a scientific academy, and the patronage system for book publication. The second part describes the cultural context of Vico's writings and especially the three editions of The New Science. This work explains the accomplishments that made Naples one of the great cultural centers of the early Enlightenment. This volume provides a cultural context for the philosophy of Giambattista Vico, and a detailed portrait of the intellectual scene of early-eighteenth century Naples.