The fantastic way of knowing: Poetry and language

Abstract

: In this installment, we continue the translation of La filosofia di G.B. Vico, by Benedetto Croce. On this occasion, we explore the fourth chapter of the monograph: La forma fantastica del conoscere (La poesia e il linguaggio). Croce revisits his thesis that Vico was the discoverer of aesthetics, understood as the science of expression and general linguistics, in other words, as the science of the primary form of knowledge, the primary operation of the human mind. Furthermore, Croce argues that the predominance of this theme in the New Science allows the work to be defined as “a philosophy of the spirit with particular attention to the philosophy of fantasy, that is, Aesthetics.” For bibliographic details of the Italian editions, please refer to the Translator’s Note.