Giambattista Vico: azar y divina providencia

Abstract

This article examines in its first section the nuance given by Vico to the concept of caso (chance) in his De antiquissima italianorum sapientia in confrontation to the tone later displayed in the narration of a significant anecdote in his Autobiografia. From the conclusions obtained by this comparison, the second section stresses the importance of the concept of chance in the human world of nations, emphasizing its peculiar relation to the origin of pagan divinities. In the third part it is established the existence of chance in Judeo-Christian God after the debate on free will and original sin. In the last section, from the notion of conato, it is shown the continuity between De antiquissima and the Scienza nuova, and thus validated the ideas precedently defended.