Alonso Rocafort, Víctor2023-12-212023-12-212024Alonso-Rocafort, Víctor. 2024. "Vico and the Conspiracy of the Sciences": History of the Human Sciences, Vol. 37(1): 121–1450952-695110.1177/09526951231186314https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/91713On 18 October 1708, Giambattista Vico (1668–1744) gave his seventh inaugural oration, De nostri temporis studiorum ratione (De ratione) at the University of Naples. There, he used the term conspirare to propose collaboration among the sciences. An initial study of the historical context, specifically the scholar’s involvement with the Conspiracy of the Prince of Macchia (1701) and the debates on university reform, makes it possible to formulate a hypothesis regarding Vico’s intent and word choice that enriches our understanding of the preserved text. On a personal level, the Neapolitan professor was looking for a modicum of protection from the new authorities, especially the recently named viceroy in audience that day, Cardinal Vicenzo Grimani. On the political plane, along with a surreptitious argument against tyranny, Vico sought to dissuade the new governors from subscribing to the divisive approach embodied in the university policy of the Cartesian and Bourbonic reformers. Direct analysis of the text of De ratione enabled theoretical scrutiny of the frame from which Vico called for more than mere encyclopaedic knowledge. He was setting forth a vision for a conspiratorial project among the sciences based on a broad understanding of rhetoric. His original proposal for inter- and trans-disciplinarity can inform current debates on the same topic.engVico and the conspiracy of the sciencesVico y la conspiración de las cienciasjournal article1461-720Xhttps://doi.org/10.1177/09526951231186314open accessConspiracy of the Prince of MacchiaDe rationeInterdisciplinarityRhetoricGiambattista VicoTeorías políticasHistoria modernaFilosofía de la CienciaFilosofía política5908 Teoría Política