In an affectionate aside on Vico’s conception of history, which in our own time might have led Vico himself to a fresh reading of technology, Hannah Arendt observes.

It is inevitable, with the multiplication of ontological programs, that one comes to pose what, in the jargon, may be called metaontological questions. Naturally, the stout hearts of philosophers groan at the prospect of spiralling issues; and I myself have no real wish to invent new disciplines. But, confronted with strong and competing ontological claims, one must take a step backward and upward.