History As Thought And Action: The Philosophies Of Croce, Gentile, De Ruggiero And Collingwood (british Idealist Studies, Series 2: Collingwood)

Annotation This is the first book-length study of the relationship between Benedetto Croce (1866-1952), Giovanni Gentile (1875-1944), Guido de Ruggiero (1888-1948) and Robin George Collingwood (1889-1943). Though the relationship between these highly influential philosophers has often been discussed, it has never been studied comprehensively. On the basis of published and unpublished writings this study carefully reconstructs their debate on the relationship between thought and action, following their explorations of art, history, philosophy and action in the context of the First World War and the rise of Fascism and Nazism. This book unveils the hidden past of contemporary philosophy of history and divulges the last secret of Collingwood's Italian connection. Dr Rik Peters is Senior Lecturer in the Department of History at the University of Groningen Cover Contents Front matter Title page Publisher information Dedication Preface Body matter Introduction: The Dead Past? 1. The Early Development of Croce and Gentile (1893–1903) Introduction Croce’s Historical Project and its Problems ‘History Subsumed Under the Concept of Art’ (1893) Gentile’s Early Development Gentile’s Criticism of Croce’s Concept of History Gentile’s ‘The Concept of History’ (1899) The Controversy between Croce and Gentile about Metaphysical Philosophy of History History in Croce’s Aesthetics as Science of Expression and General Linguistic (1902) History at the End of Gentile’s Early Development 2. Croce’s Middle Development and His System (1903–1917) Introduction History in the Outlines of Logic as Science of the Pure Concept (1905) What is Living and What is Dead in the Philosophy of Hegel (1907) Gentile’s Criticism of Croce’s Interpretation of Hegel The Further Development of the Philosophy of the Spirit: Philosophy of the Practical (1909) Logic as Science of the Pure Concept (1909) Theory and History of Historiography (1912–1917) Conclusion 3. Gentile’s Middle Development and His System (1903–1923) Introduction The Birth of Actualism: ‘The Act of Thought as Pure Act’ (1912) ‘The Method of Immanence’ The System: Theory and Practice (1912–23) The System: Philosophy and History (1916–23) Croce’s Criticism of Gentile’s Identity of Philosophy and History The Ethics of Knowing: System of Logic (1917–23) Conclusion 4. Guido de Ruggiero’s Early Development (1911–1918) Introduction La filosofia contemporanea (Modern Philosophy) (1912) De Ruggiero’s Criticism of Croce and Gentile ‘Science as Absolute Experience’ (1912) Morality and History (1912–14) Problems of Moral Life (1914) De Ruggiero’s Philosophy of History ‘La pensée italienne et la guerre’ (1916) Conclusion 5. Collingwood’s Early Development (1889–1917) Introduction Oxford and Italian Philosophy The Philosophy of Giambattista Vico (1913) Collingwood’s Commentaries on Croce’s Philosophy of the Spirit (1912) Religion and Philosophy (1912–14) ‘The Devil’ and Evil: Two Steps Forward The Moment of Kairos: The Albert Memorial Meditations (1915–16) Collingwood’s First Criticism of Croce’s Theory and History of Historiography (1917) Truth and Contradiction (1917) Conclusion 6. Croce, Gentile, and de Ruggiero in the 1920s Introduction Croce’s New Essays on Aesthetics (1918–20) Gentile’s Criticism of Croce’s New Essays and His Own Contribution to Aesthetics De Ruggiero’s Criticism of Croce and Gentile and His Own Contribution to Aesthetics Croce’s Criticism of de Ruggiero’s Aesthetics The Rise of Fascism The Involvement of Croce, Gentile, and de Ruggiero in the Rise of Fascism Gentile’s Moral and Political Philosophy in the 1920s Philosophy of History in Gentile’s Fascist Works Gentile’s Fascist Historiography Croce’s Moral and Political Philosophy The Value of History in Croce’s Moral and Political Philosophy Croce’s Historiography: The Tetralogy (1925–32) De Ruggiero’s Moral and Political Philosophy The Value of History in the Liberal State De Ruggiero’s Revision of Idealism: La via più ardua De Ruggiero’s Historiography Conclusion 7. Collingwood’s Middle Development (1918–1930) Introduction Collingwood’s Settlement with Croce (1920) The Sketch: ‘Libellus de Generatione’ (1920) The Dissolution of Realism The Myth of Process Philosophy and History in the World of Becoming Painting Out the Sketch 1920–1924 The First Painting: Speculum Mentis (1924) ‘The Nature and Aims of a Philosophy of History’ (1924) The Ideality of History (1926) ‘Lectures on the Philosophy of History’ (1926) ‘Preliminary Discussion’ (1927) ‘Outlines of a Philosophy of History’ (1928) The Final Step: The Encapsulation Theory Conclusion 8. The Later Development of the Italians Introduction Gentile’s Philosophy of Art Gentile’s Later Philosophy of History The Transcending of Time History and Action: Genesis and Structure of Society (1944) Croce’s Final Position: History as Thought and Action (1938) De Ruggiero’s Return to Reason (1933–1940) Conclusion 9. Collingwood’s Later Development Introduction The Preface to the Series: An Essay on Philosophical Method (1933) Preparing the Series: Nature and Mind (1933–36) The Idea of Nature Preparing the Series: History (1935–37) The Foundations of the Future The Programme: ‘Human Nature and Human History’ (1936) The History of the Idea of History (1936) The Presuppositions of History: Three Epilegomena (1936) 10. Collingwood’s System Introduction The Principles of Art (1938) Collingwood’s Theory of Understanding The Principles of History (1939) An Essay on Metaphysics (1940) The New Leviathan (1942) Conclusion: The Living Past Back matter Bibliography Also available