Abstract

Based on a thorough investigation of historiographical works, the essay focuses on the relationship between Vico and Hobbes, looking at their divergent approaches to humanistic rhetoric. On the one hand, humanistic rhetoric is excluded from the epistemological framework of Hobbes’ masterpiece, Leviathan, although the author had addressed it in previous studies; on the other hand, in his New Science Vico considers humanistic rhetoric a crucial heuristic resource for understanding the origins of human society.