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Western Philosophy
20th-century philosophy
Name
Benedetto Croce
Birth February 25, 1866 (Pescasseroli, Italy)
Death November 20, 1952 (Naples, Italy)
School/tradition Hegelianism, Idealism, Liberalism
Main interests History, Aesthetics, Politics
Influenced by Giambattista Vico, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, G.W.F. Hegel, Karl Marx, Antonio Labriola, Georges Sorel
Influenced Giovanni Gentile, Antonio Gramsci, R. G. Collingwood

Benedetto Croce (February 25, 1866 – November 20, 1952) was an Italian critic, idealist philosopher, and politician. See also [[Analytic philosophy]] and [[Continental philosophy]] The 20th century brought with it upheavals that produced a series of conflicting developments within Philosophy Events 138 - The Emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius, effectively making him his successor Year 1866 ( MDCCCLXVI) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Pescasseroli is a town and commune in the Province of L'Aquila, in Southern Abruzzo, a mountainous region in Central Italy. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Events 284 - Diocletian was chosen as Roman Emperor. 762 - Bögü Khan of the Uyghurs, Year 1952 ( MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Naples ( Napoli, Neapolitan: Nàpule) is a historic City in southern Italy, the Capital of the Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Hegelianism is a Philosophy developed by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel which can be summed up by Hegel's "the Rational alone is real" which means In Western civilization, Idealism is the philosophy which maintains that the Ultimate nature of reality is ideal or based upon ideas values essences The so-called Liberalism is a broad array of related ideas and theories of Government that consider individual Liberty to be the most important political goal History is the study of the past particularly the written record Those who study history as a Profession are called Historians Etymology Aesthetics or esthetics ( also spelled æsthetics) is commonly known as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values sometimes called Politics Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions Giambattista Vico, Giambattista Vigo or Giovanni Battista Vico ( June 23, 1668 – January 23, 1744) was an Italian Antonio Labriola ( July 2, 1843 - February 12, 1904) was an Italian Marxist theoretician Georges Eugène Sorel ( 2 November, 1847 &ndash 29 August, 1922) was a French Philosopher and theorist of Revolutionary Giovanni Gentile (dʒoˈvɑnni dʒenˈtile May 30, 1875 April 15, 1944) was an Italian neo- Hegelian Idealist Antonio Gramsci ('ɡramʃi ( January 23, 1891 &ndash April 27, 1937) was an Italian Philosopher, Writer, Robin George Collingwood ( February 22, 1889 – January 9, 1943) was a British philosopher and historian Events 138 - The Emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius, effectively making him his successor Year 1866 ( MDCCCLXVI) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 284 - Diocletian was chosen as Roman Emperor. 762 - Bögü Khan of the Uyghurs, Year 1952 ( MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest In Western civilization, Idealism is the philosophy which maintains that the Ultimate nature of reality is ideal or based upon ideas values essences The so-called Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language A politician (from Greek " Polis " is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making through the influence of Politics or a person He wrote on numerous topics, including philosophy of history and aesthetics, and was a prominent liberal, although he opposed laissez-faire free trade. Philosophy of history or historiosophy is an area of Philosophy concerning the eventual significance if any of human History. Aesthetics or esthetics ( also spelled æsthetics) is commonly known as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values sometimes called Laissez-faire ( pronunciation: French,; English,) is a French phrase literally meaning Let do (“allow to do” Free trade is a system in which the trade of goods and services between or within countries flows unhindered by government-imposed restrictions His influence on Antonio Gramsci is quite notable. Antonio Gramsci ('ɡramʃi ( January 23, 1891 &ndash April 27, 1937) was an Italian Philosopher, Writer,

Contents

Biography

Croce was born in Pescasseroli in the Abruzzo region of Italy. Pescasseroli is a town and commune in the Province of L'Aquila, in Southern Abruzzo, a mountainous region in Central Italy. He came from an influential and wealthy family, and was raised in a very strict Catholic environment. Around the age of 18, he turned away from Catholicism and became an atheist, remaining so for the rest of his life. In 1883, an earthquake hit the village of Casamicciola, Ischia, where he was on holiday with his family, destroying the home they lived in. His mother, father, and only sister were all killed, while he was buried for a very long time and barely survived. After the incident he inherited his family's fortune and was able to live the rest of his life in relative leisure, enabling him to devote a great deal of time to philosophy. As his fame increased, many pushed him, against his wishes, to go into politics. He was made Minister of Public Education, and later moved to the Italian Senate, a lifelong position. He was an open critic of Italy's participation in World War I, feeling that it was a suicidal trade war. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Though this made him initially unpopular, his reputation was restored after the war and he became a well-loved public figure. He was also instrumental in the Biblioteca Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele III's move to the Palazzo Reale in 1923. The Biblioteca nazionale Vittorio Emanuele III ( Vittorio Emanuele III National Library) is a National library of Italy.

Though Benedetto Croce initially supported Benito Mussolini's Fascist government (1922-24)[1], eventually he openly opposed the Fascist Party[2], he remained so till his death in 1952. The National Fascist Party ( Partito Nazionale Fascista; PNF was an Italian party created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of Year 1952 ( MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

The philosophy of spirit

Heavily influenced by Hegel and other German Idealists, such as Fichte, Croce produced what was called, by him, the Philosophy of Spirit. Johann Gottlieb Fichte ( May 19, 1762 – January 27, 1814) was a German philosopher Croce was an ardent idealist, and denied any reality other than "pure concept", or simply ideas. In Western civilization, Idealism is the philosophy which maintains that the Ultimate nature of reality is ideal or based upon ideas values essences The so-called "Pure Concept" to him are largely Plato's Ideas, and are similar to Kant's categories, which are concepts like quantity, quality, evolution, more or less any idea we have that can be described as a universal idea. Biography Early life Birth and family Plato was born in Athens Greece Immanuel Kant (ɪmanuəl kant 22 April 1724 12 February 1804 was an 18th-century German Philosopher from the Prussian city of Königsberg In Kant 's philosophy a category is a pure concept of the understanding He came to the conclusion that if all of reality was an idea, all of reality could be reduced to purely logical concepts, and most of his works from there on are expositions on logic. Logic is the study of the principles of valid demonstration and Inference. He rejected all forms of religion, as not logical enough, and came to view most metaphysics in the same manner. Metaphysics is the branch of Philosophy investigating principles of reality transcending those of any particular science He felt that all metaphysics are simple justifications of religious ideas and not full, viable philosophical ideas. Nevertheless, he held onto his idealism.

History

Croce also held great esteem for Vico, and shared his view that history should be written by philosophers. Giambattista Vico, Giambattista Vigo or Giovanni Battista Vico ( June 23, 1668 – January 23, 1744) was an Italian Croce's On History sets forth the view of history as "philosophy in motion", that there is no greater "cosmic design" or ultimate plan in history, and that the "science of history" was a farce. This led him to scorn theorists like Marx and Hegel who attempted to reduce history to a few guiding principles. He largely agrees with Rousseau, saying that history is a series of lies, where we must choose the one that seems closest to the truth.

Beauty

Croce's work Breviario di estetica (The Essence of Aesthetic) appears in the form of four lessons (quattro lezioni), as he was asked to write and deliver them at the inauguration of Rice University in 1912. William Marsh Rice University (commonly called Rice University and opened in 1912 as The William Marsh Rice Institute for the Advancement of Letters Science and Art He declined the invitation to attend the event; however, he wrote the lessons and submitted them for translation, so that they could be read in his absence. In this brief, but dense, work, Croce sets forth his theory of art. Art refers to a diverse range of Human activities creations and expressions that are appealing to the Senses or Emotions of a human individual He claimed that art was more important than science or metaphysics, since only the former edifies us. He felt that all we know can be reduced to logical and imaginative knowledge. Art springs from the latter, making it at its heart, pure imagery. All thought is based in part on this, and it precedes all other thought. The task of an artist is then to put forth the perfect image that they can produce for their viewer, since this is what beauty fundamentally is - the formation of inward, mental images in their ideal state. Our intuition is the basis of forming these concepts within us. This theory was later heavily debated by such contemporary Italian thinkers as Umberto Eco. Umberto Eco (born 5 January 1932 is an Italian Medievalist, semiotician, Philosopher, literary critic and Novelist, best

Selected Quotes

All history is contemporary.

Footnotes

  1. ^ Denis Mack Smith, “Benedetto Croce: History and Politics”, Journal of Contemporary History Vol 8(1) Jan 1973 pg 47.
  2. ^ He coined the term onagrocracy (literally "government by braying asses") to describe the style of rule by the Italian fascist movement and its leader Benito Mussolini's type of government. The Onager ( Equus hemionus) is a large Mammal belonging to the horse family and native to the deserts of Syria, Iran, Pakistan Fascism is a totalitarian nationalist and corporatist ideology For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. It is a disdainful term for misgovernment, a late and satirical addition to Aristotle's famous three: tyranny, oligarchy, and democracy. Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. In modern usage a tyrant is a single ruler holding absolute power over a State or within an Organization. Oligarchy' ( Greek, Oligarkhía) is a Form of government where Political power effectively rests with a small elite segment Democracy is a form of government in which the supreme power is held completely by the people under a free electoral system

Selected bibliography

Further reading

See also

External links

Liberalism is a broad array of related ideas and theories of Government that consider individual Liberty to be the most important political goal This is a partial list of individual contributions to liberal political theory on a worldwide scale Project Gutenberg, abbreviated as PG, is a volunteer effort to Digitize, archive and distribute Cultural works
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