
1. According to Vico, civil society
~ According to Vico, civil society can be understood by humans because it was made by humans.
@ According to Vico, civil society can be understood by humans because it was made by humans.
a. can, just like the study of nature, be properly understood by any who employ observation and reason.
b. will yield no results not already discovered by the historians of antiquity.
c. cannot be understood, because it is God's creation.
*d. can be understood by humans because it was made by humans. 

2. Which of the following best describes Vico's stages of human historical development?
~ First came the age of the gods in which humans believed in supernatural forces and ruled by laws that were believed to come from God. Then came the age of heroes in which aristrocrats ruled and justified their rule by claiming to be better than others. Then came the age of man in which all men were considered equal and ruled through republics and monarchies.
@ First came the age of the gods in which humans believed in supernatural forces and ruled by laws that were believed to come from God. Then came the age of heroes in which aristrocrats ruled and justified their rule by claiming to be better than others. Then came the age of man in which all men were considered equal and ruled through republics and monarchies.
*a. First came the age of the gods in which humans believed in supernatural forces and ruled by laws that were believed to come from God. Then came the age of heroes in which aristrocrats ruled and justified their rule by claiming to be better than others. Then came the age of man in which all men were considered equal and ruled through republics and monarchies.
b. First came simple language in which words represented things. Then came metaphorical language in which one could explain heroic deeds through metaphor. Then came rule-based language and the creation of dictionaries.
c. First came the time of the primitive savages in which all were perfectly free and happy. Then came the age of private property in which inequality became manifest. Then came the age of democracy and wealth sharing.
d. First came the age of gods and monsters. Then came the age of heroes. Then came the age of the One God and His Law.

3. Giambattista Vico was an 
~ Giambattista Vico was an 
@ Giambattista Vico was an Italian philosopher. His New Science was a response to French philosopher René Descartes.
a. Italian prince.
*b. Italian philosopher.
c. Italian mathematician.
d. Italian priest.

4. According to Vico, humans ________ the operation of nature because ____________.
~ According to Vico, humans cannot understand the operation of nature because God created it.
@ According to Vico, humans cannot understand the operation of nature because God created it.
a. understand the operation of nature because understanding nature will help humanity to better understand God.
b. control the operation of nature because they can use reason and observation to predict what it will do.
c. fail to understand the operation of nature because they are insufficiently educated.
*d. cannot understand the operation of nature because God created it.

5. Which of the following quotations from the text shows Vico's thoughts on the study of natural sciences?
~ "Whoever reflects on this cannot but marvel that the philosophers should have bent all their energies to the study of the world of nature, which, since God made it, He alone knows; and that they should have neglected the study of the world of nations, or civil world, which, since men had made it, men could come to know."
@ "Whoever reflects on this cannot but marvel that the philosophers should have bent all their energies to the study of the world of nature, which, since God made it, He alone knows; and that they should have neglected the study of the world of nations, or civil world, which, since men had made it, men could come to know."
a. "...that the world of civil society has certainly been made by men, and that its principles are therefore to be found within the modifications of our own human mind."
b. "This New Science or metaphysic, studying the common nature of nations in the light of divine providence, discovers the origins of divine and humaninstitutions among the gentile nations, and thereby establishes a system of natural law, the natural law of the gentes, which proceeds with the greatest equality and constancy...."
*c. "Whoever reflects on this cannot but marvel that the philosophers should have bent all their energies to the study of the world of nature, which, since God made it, He alone knows; and that they should have neglected the study of the world of nations, or civil world, which, since men had made it, men could come to know."
d. "But as the popular states became corrupt, so also did the philosophies. They descended to skepticism. Learned fools fell to calumniating the truth."

6. What is the role of God in Vico's New Science?
~ God creates nature but not human societies. 
@ God creates nature but not human societies. 
a. God has no role.
b. God's role is to lead humanity toward the rapture.
*c. God creates nature but not human societies. 
d. God uses nature to create cues to lead humanity toward correct behavior.

7. How does the New Science represent Enlightenment historiography?
~ The New Science proposes a teleological vision of history in which humans progress from hierarchical and supernaturally-based societies to more egalitarian and rationally-based societies.
@ The New Science proposes a teleological vision of history in which humans progress from hierarchical and supernaturally-based societies to more egalitarian and rationally-based societies.
*a. The New Science proposes a teleological vision of history in which humans progress from hierarchical and supernaturally-based societies to more egalitarian and rationally-based societies.
b. The New Science proposes a vision of history in which humans bring about God's will through achievement of a rationally-based, democratic society.
c. The New Science proposes that historical progress happens without any divine intervention at all.
d. The New Science was written in vernacular language rather than Latin so that everyone could understand it.

8. The New Science is 
~ The New Science is the study of society or civil institutions, as opposed to the study of nature.
@ The New Science is the study of society or civil institutions, as opposed to the study of nature.
a. the study the changing morality of humanity.
*b. the study of society or civil institutions.
c. the study of nature.
d. the philosophical understanding of divine institutions.

9. The stages of human development described by Vico
~ The stages of human development described by Vico all begin with supernatural-based hierarchical societies and progress toward societies based on agreement among many.
@ The stages of human development described by Vico all begin with supernatural-based hierarchical societies and progress toward societies based on agreement among many.
*a. all begin with supernatural-based hierarchical societies and progress toward societies based on agreement among many.
b. all lead towards the eventual destruction of human government.
c. are all the result of the actions of God.
d. are cyclical.

10. According to Vico, what causes a state to decline?
~ The pursuit of private interests. People who cannot agree on common interests are no better than beasts.
@ The pursuit of private interests. People who cannot agree on common interests are no better than beasts.
a. A lack of belief in the divine authority of God.
b. Naturally, any state will see decline after a period of one-hundred-twenty years.
c. Foreign Invasions.
*d. The pursuit of private interests.