Quote by Giambattista Vico: “Men first feel necessity, then look for utility, next attend to comfort, still later amuse themselves.”

Vico describes a progression of human development, starting from basic survival needs, then seeking practical uses, moving to ease and pleasure, and finally engaging in leisure. It's a journey from survival to sophistication in human civilization.

This reflects Vico's cyclical theory of history, detailed in The New Science, where societies progress through different stages (Age of Gods, Heroes, Men) driven by evolving human needs and desires, a dynamic view of progress.

Italian philosopher born in Naples in 1668, whose New Science proposed a cyclical theory of history organized around recurring stages of human cultural development. Largely ignored in his own lifetime, he was rediscovered in the 19th century and recognized as a forerunner of anthropology, sociology, and the philosophy of history. His ideas influenced Hegel, Marx, and James Joyce.