New Vico Studies

Volume 20, 2002

Vico’s Theory of Education for the Common Good

Elio Gianturco said, of De mente heroica (On the Heroic Mind) “it is one of the most inspired ‘invitations to learning’ ever penned. . . . The eros of learning has seldom been expressed in more electrifying terms.” Vico advocates the humanist ideal that the goal of education is the realization of the natural bond between eloquence and wisdom. The educated person has the goal of becoming “wisdom speaking” (la sapienza che parla). The aim of the individual in any system of education should be to grasp all the branches of knowledge in their connections to each other, to see thought as forming a whole. On Vico’s view, the individual should acquire the power of wisdom speaking for the common good. The ideal to instill in students is a sense of heroic mind. This form of heroism is the cultivation of the virtues to seek not just honor and gain but to act for the social good. These are ancient ideals that carry with them their own power. On Vico’s view, they require constant and eloquent restatement by the teacher and should occupy a central place in the educational institution.