Metaphysics abstracts the mind from the senses, and the poetic faculty must submerge the whole mind in the senses. Metaphysics soars up to universals, and the poetic faculty must plunge deep into particulars.
Giambattista VicoRead
It is true that men themselves made this world of nations... but this world without doubt has issued from a mind often diverse, at times quite contrary, and always superior to the particular ends that men had proposed to themselves.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Men create nations, but the complex world that results is shaped by a higher intellect that transcends individual intentions.
Giambattista Vico implies that while human beings construct nations and societies, the overarching reality of the world is influenced by a higher mind or intelligence that often diverges from the specific goals humans set for themselves. This suggests that the complexities of human existence and the structures we build are governed by forces beyond our control, which often leads to outcomes that are unexpected and not aligned with our original aspirations.
Themes
NationsMenMindIntellectHigher PowerComplexity
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a lecture about the philosophy of history.
More from Giambattista Vico
All quotes →The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.
Giambattista VicoRead
The criterion and rule of the true is to have made it. Accordingly, our clear and distinct idea of the mind cannot be a criterion of the mind itself, still less of other truths. For while the mind perceives itself, it does not make itself.
Giambattista VicoRead
People first feel things without noticing them, then notice them with inner distress and disturbance, and finally reflect on them with a clear mind.
Giambattista VicoRead
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