Abstract

[Vico, Natural Law, and the Concept of “Obligatio”]. The aim of this paper is to explore the relation between the concept of obligation and the idea of law in Vico’s philosophy. The author argues that the concept of law and its mandatory element, i.e. the obligation constitute the link between the metaphysical verum and the historical certum. According to the Author’s interpretation, the obligation is presented as the efficacy of the realised, necessary and coercive legal truths in the real, historical societies. The paper is divided into an historical and a theoretical part. The first one deals with an episode in the reception of the Scienza Nuova Prima and with the role that the concept of law plays in this work. The second part presents an interpretative thesis concerning the role of the concept of obligation in the context of Vicos legal philosophical argumentations.