Abstract
Giambattista Vico is a philosopher with a deeply tragic sense of life. His theory of the course of nations does not entail a notion of progress. Nations are born, mature, decline, and perish, and the nations that rise in their wake must begin again from barbarism. Nevertheless, Vico has a doctrine of humor and laughter, which he details in a digression within short apologia, the “Vici Vindiciae.” No significant scholarly attention has ever been paid to this digression. In this article, I critically consider Vico’s theory, with the greater intention of situating it in the context of his philosophy as a whole. I demonstrate that Vico’s association of “acute remarks” with the pursuit of truth, and his criticism of “argute remarks,” mockery, and laughter are an extension of his doctrine of the heroic mind. I also discuss the significance of Roman comedy for Vico as philologist.
About the author
Mercer University, USA;
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Articles in the same Issue
- Titlepages
- Titlepages
- Table of Contents
- Articles
- Vico’s Theory of Humor and Laughter
- Laughter as Natural Piety: John Dewey, Humor, and the Religious
- Understanding Humor: Four Conceptual Approaches to the Elusive Subject
- Reality Is a Joke
- What Makes a Joke Bad: Enthymemes and the Pragmatics of Humor
- It’s Okay to Laugh at Fat Bastard: Ridicule, Satire, and Immoralism
- Oppression, Subversive Humor, and Unstable Politics
- What's the Deal with Sophists? Critical Thought and Humor in Ancient Philosophy and Contemporary Comedy
- Discussion: Article for Further Debate
- Discussion: Article for Further Debate Edited by John Marmysz
- What’s So Funny About Golf?
- Artificial Intelligence, Phenomenology, and The Molyneux Problem
- A Kernel of Truth: Outlining an Epistemology of Jokes
- Philosophical Satire and Criticism
- Philosophical Satire and Criticism Edited by Steven Gimbel
- How to Read Wittgenstein as x: An Exercise in Selective Interpretation
- Humor in Philosophy Education
- Humor in Philosophy Education Edited by Christine A. James
- Quantifying Laughter in International Research
- Symposium
- Symposium Edited by Steven Gimbel Robert R. Clewis, Foreword by Noël Carroll, Kant’s Humorous Writings: An Illustrated Guide. Bloomsbury Academic, 2020. Pp. xxiv + 256 Critics
- Prosecuting the Case against Clewis
- All in Good Taste
- Is Kant Seriously Funny?
- Clewis on Kant’s Humor
- Author’s Response
- Author's Response
- Humor and the Arts: Taking Kant Seriously
- Book Reviews
- Book Reviews Edited by Lydia Amir With Pierre Destrée (Ancient and Medieval Philosophy) and John Marmysz (Modern and Contemporary Philosophy)
- Call for Papers, Book Reviews, Guidelines
- Call for Papers, Book Reviews, Guidelines
Articles in the same Issue
- Titlepages
- Titlepages
- Table of Contents
- Articles
- Vico’s Theory of Humor and Laughter
- Laughter as Natural Piety: John Dewey, Humor, and the Religious
- Understanding Humor: Four Conceptual Approaches to the Elusive Subject
- Reality Is a Joke
- What Makes a Joke Bad: Enthymemes and the Pragmatics of Humor
- It’s Okay to Laugh at Fat Bastard: Ridicule, Satire, and Immoralism
- Oppression, Subversive Humor, and Unstable Politics
- What's the Deal with Sophists? Critical Thought and Humor in Ancient Philosophy and Contemporary Comedy
- Discussion: Article for Further Debate
- Discussion: Article for Further Debate Edited by John Marmysz
- What’s So Funny About Golf?
- Artificial Intelligence, Phenomenology, and The Molyneux Problem
- A Kernel of Truth: Outlining an Epistemology of Jokes
- Philosophical Satire and Criticism
- Philosophical Satire and Criticism Edited by Steven Gimbel
- How to Read Wittgenstein as x: An Exercise in Selective Interpretation
- Humor in Philosophy Education
- Humor in Philosophy Education Edited by Christine A. James
- Quantifying Laughter in International Research
- Symposium
- Symposium Edited by Steven Gimbel Robert R. Clewis, Foreword by Noël Carroll, Kant’s Humorous Writings: An Illustrated Guide. Bloomsbury Academic, 2020. Pp. xxiv + 256 Critics
- Prosecuting the Case against Clewis
- All in Good Taste
- Is Kant Seriously Funny?
- Clewis on Kant’s Humor
- Author’s Response
- Author's Response
- Humor and the Arts: Taking Kant Seriously
- Book Reviews
- Book Reviews Edited by Lydia Amir With Pierre Destrée (Ancient and Medieval Philosophy) and John Marmysz (Modern and Contemporary Philosophy)
- Call for Papers, Book Reviews, Guidelines
- Call for Papers, Book Reviews, Guidelines