How did Giambattista Vico’s ideas anticipate Romantic thought?

Giambattista Vico anticipated Romantic thought primarily through his revolutionary approach to history and human expression in his work, Scienza nuova.21

Vico challenged the Enlightenment assumption that primitive humans possessed rational worldviews similar to those of his contemporaries. Instead, he argued that early humanity was defined by powerful imaginations, expressing their understanding of the world through poetic metaphors and myths rather than abstract logic. This emphasis on the creative, imaginative nature of early human consciousness resonated deeply with Romantic thinkers, who prioritized imagination as a fundamental faculty for insight into the human condition.21

Furthermore, Vico integrated art and language into a comprehensive theory of civilizational development, viewing culture as a cyclical process where art and myth serve as expressions of social conditions. His rejection of a linear view of progress in favor of a spiral evolution of humanity influenced later Romantic historians, such as Jules Michelet, who regarded Vico as an essential intellectual forerunner. By asserting that humans can only truly know what they have created, Vico established a foundation for historiography that valued historical certainty over abstract, naturalistic philosophy.123