
Giovanni Gentile was an influential Italian philosopher, pedagogue, and politician, recognized as a leading figure in Italian idealism alongside Benedetto Croce. He developed a philosophical system known as 'actual idealism,' which emphasized the subjective aspects of the idealist tradition. Gentile's work extended beyond philosophy; he played a pivotal role in shaping the intellectual foundations of Italian fascism. His writings, including the 1925 'Manifesto of the Fascist Intellectuals' and contributions to 'The Doctrine of Fascism,' co-authored with Benito Mussolini, underscored his alignment with fascist ideology and its educational reforms. As Minister for Public Education, Gentile implemented the Gentile Reform in 1923, a significant piece of legislation that restructured the Italian educational system and remained influential until 1962. He also contributed to the establishment of the Institute of the Italian Encyclopedia, serving as its first editor. Gentile's legacy is complex; while he is recognized for his philosophical contributions, his association with fascism has sparked considerable debate regarding the ethical implications of his ideas and their impact on Italian society during a tumultuous period in history.
“[...] intellectualism (as understood by Fascists) divocers thought from action, science from life, the brain from the heart, and theory from practice. It is the posture of the talker and the skeptic, of the person who entrenches himself behind the maxim that it is one thing to say something and another thing to do it; it is the utopian who is the fabricator of systems that will never face concrete reality; it is the talk of the poet, the scientist, the philosopher, who confine themselves to fantasy and to speculation and are ill-disposed to look around themselves and see the earth on which they tread and on which are to be found those fundamental human interests that feed their very fantasy and intelligence.”
“Oggi in Italia gli animi sono schierati in due opposti campi; da una parte i fascisti, dall’altra i loro avversari, democratici di tutte le tinte e tendenze, due mondi che si escludono reciprocamente. Ma la grandissima maggioranza degli italiani rimane estranea e sente che la materia del contrasto, scelto dalle opposizioni, non ha una consistenza politica apprezzabile ed atta ad interessare l’anima popolare.”
“La verità è che la grande massa del popolo italiano lo sente e ne dà prova con la tranquilla indifferenza con cui assiste alle calorose proteste e querimonie delle opposizioni, che chi lavora oggi in Italia, per la libertà della Nazione nel mondo, non è l’antifascismo, ma il Fascismo,”
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