Vico’s Ring
99
functor, and finds them to be in non-compliance, or stated dif-
ferently, these theories did not “behave” correctly when tested
by insights arrived at from actual history
224
.
This brings us to the final element of our trichotomous
framework, the semicontravariant functor that engages “philolo-
gy” with the sphere of the actual human social and cultural do-
main. The prefix “semi” is simply meant to alert us to the fact
that this epistemic step can be only partly effective or success-
ful
225
. It is just as much an informal figure of speech as Vico’s
expression «by half (
per metà
)» in Axiom X (§ 140)
226
. This is the
stage of the overall epistemic process at which the theoretical, in
form of “philology”, meets historical and human reality most di-
rectly. And, without downplaying the successful formulation of
“philological” Axioms that Vico felt he had achieved, it is in-
cumbent to give an account of the ways that theoretical con-
structs, in and of themselves, inherently can never fully capture
reality. Vico himself speaks of «encounter[ing] exasperating diffi-
culties which have cost [him] the research of a good twenty
years» (§ 338) in understanding something of the lost archaic
world
227
. However, he obviously considered his undertaking a
(qualified) success
228
. Another challenge is the fragmentary, in-
complete record of past ages and their cultures; nevertheless he
expressed confidence in having been able to integrate them in
this theoretical framework (§ 357)
229
. The real problem lies
somewhere else: intellectual entities by themselves can never en-
compass or exhaust the full scope of reality and experienced his-
tory
230
. Vico’s brilliantly succinct statement that «its [the world of
civil society’s] principles are therefore to be found within the
modifications of our own human mind» (§ 331) might appear at
first glance to buttress the claim to the wholly commensurate
(philosophical/theoretical) power of the mind. As one reads on,
however, it becomes clearer where the relatively most pro-
nounced accent falls, which is not on
the modifications
or on the
mind
, but on
human
231
. In terms of such lived humanity, Vico goes