Benedetto Croce – författare

Originally published in English in 1950 this is one of the most revealing works by one of Italy’s foremost philosophers of the 20th century, who was also a courageous and effective opponent of Fascism. Following the Allied landing at Salerno, Croce was called upon by kings, princes, generals and politicians and asked to decide question of vital importance to Italy. This book records the notes Croce made on political matters in 1943 and 1944 and includes some of the many documents Croce possessed which referred to the attempt in Naples (noted in the Autumn of 1943) to form a Corps of Italian volunteers.

Originally published in English in 1950 this is one of the most revealing works by one of Italy’s foremost philosophers of the 20th century, who was also a courageous and effective opponent of Fascism. Following the Allied landing at Salerno, Croce was called upon by kings, princes, generals and politicians and asked to decide question of vital importance to Italy. This book records the notes Croce made on political matters in 1943 and 1944 and includes some of the many documents Croce possessed which referred to the attempt in Naples (noted in the Autumn of 1943) to form a Corps of Italian volunteers.

One of Croce’s most famous books, originally published in 1934, this volume covers the history of Europe from the end of the Napoleonic Wars until the end of the First World War. Based on a series of lectures delivered in 1931 the book discusses, among other things, religious freedoms, the concept of liberty, liberalism and nationalism and the rise of the German state.

Originally published in 1949, Croce’s essays on political, philosophic and aesthetic subjects, selected from both his earlier and later writings possess a remarkable underlying unity. The political essays which form a major part of this volume display a criticism, either direct or implied of the mass creeds and movements that subordinate the individual to history. They combine a passionate belief in liberty with critical and historical judgment.

One of Croce’s most famous books, originally published in 1934, this volume covers the history of Europe from the end of the Napoleonic Wars until the end of the First World War. Based on a series of lectures delivered in 1931 the book discusses, among other things, religious freedoms, the concept of liberty, liberalism and nationalism and the rise of the German state.

Originally published in 1949, Croce’s essays on political, philosophic and aesthetic subjects, selected from both his earlier and later writings possess a remarkable underlying unity. The political essays which form a major part of this volume display a criticism, either direct or implied of the mass creeds and movements that subordinate the individual to history. They combine a passionate belief in liberty with critical and historical judgment.

Originally published in 1922 and partly from periodicals this book provides a methodological introduction to the reading of Dante’s The Divine Comedy, with the aim of removing the confusion surrounding much Dantean literature and helping the reader to focus attention on the essential qualities of Dante’s work.

Originally published in 1922 and partly from periodicals this book provides a methodological introduction to the reading of Dante’s The Divine Comedy, with the aim of removing the confusion surrounding much Dantean literature and helping the reader to focus attention on the essential qualities of Dante’s work.

Originally published in 1946, this book reveals Croce’s dynamic conception of liberty, liberalism and the relation of individual morality to the State. The State which he discusses is more than a national government; it is a historical conception which takes in all ‘states’ - local and international. The volume provides an inspired analysis of the relation of politics and morals, individual liberty, free enterprise and pragmatic social judgement.

Originally published in 1946, this book reveals Croce’s dynamic conception of liberty, liberalism and the relation of individual morality to the State. The State which he discusses is more than a national government; it is a historical conception which takes in all ‘states’ - local and international. The volume provides an inspired analysis of the relation of politics and morals, individual liberty, free enterprise and pragmatic social judgement.

Croce admired Goethe partly because the latter possessed a knowledge of human nature in all its aspects but nonetheless kept his mind above and beyond political sympathies and the quarrels of nations. In this volume originally published in English in 1923, Croce distils his critical ideas about Goethe with the aim of helping readers to better understand the German poet’s work.

Croce admired Goethe partly because the latter possessed a knowledge of human nature in all its aspects but nonetheless kept his mind above and beyond political sympathies and the quarrels of nations. In this volume originally published in English in 1923, Croce distils his critical ideas about Goethe with the aim of helping readers to better understand the German poet’s work.

Originally published in 1921 this volume consists of the first of Croce’s literary criticisms to be published in English and as well as a section on Shakespeare, it contains unique essays on Ariosto and Corneille which together inaugurated a new era in literary criticism. The essays are based on Croce’s Theory of Aesthetic - a theory which to many is the only one that completely explains the problem of poetry and the fine arts - and as a result are profound and suggestive.

Originally published in 1921 this volume consists of the first of Croce’s literary criticisms to be published in English and as well as a section on Shakespeare, it contains unique essays on Ariosto and Corneille which together inaugurated a new era in literary criticism. The essays are based on Croce’s Theory of Aesthetic - a theory which to many is the only one that completely explains the problem of poetry and the fine arts - and as a result are profound and suggestive.

The Italian philosopher Benedetto Croce (1866-1952) spent most of his life as a private scholar in Naples. His Estetica, which first appeared in 1902, has remained a seminal work not only for aesthetics but also for general linguistics. As the full title indicates, this is not a narrow work dealing with the theory of art and criticism. For Croce intended this to be the first part of his 'philosophy of the spirit' and he thus presents a systematic general theory intended to solve all philosophical problems. The work presents an account of the structure of the human mind and shows how art arises naturally from that structure, as well as introducing the influential notion of the organic unity of a work of art. As a result, art is shown to be integral to any life and an essential aspect of what it is to be human.

With a new introduction by Alan Sica.Giambattista Vico (1668-1744) is often regarded as the beleaguered, neglected genius of pre-Enlightenment Naples. His work-though known to Herder, Coleridge, Matthew Arnold, and Michelet-widely and deeply appreciated only during the twentieth century. Although Vico may be best known for the use James Joyce made of his theories in Finnegans Wake, Croce's insightful analysis of Vico's ideas played a large role in alerting readers to his unique voice. Croce's volume preceded Joyce's creation of "Mr. John Baptister Vickar" by a quarter century.During the last 25 years Vico's ideas about history, language, anti-Cartesian epistemology, and rhetoric have begun to receive the recognition their admirers have long claimed they deserve. Increasing numbers of publications appear annually which bear the stamp of Vico's thinking. Even if he is not yet so renowned as some of his contemporaries, such as Locke, Voltaire, or Montesquieu, there are good reasons to believe that in the future he will be equally honored as a cultural theorist. As a theorist of historical process and its language, there is no more innovative voice than his until the twentieth century-which explains in part why such figures as Joyce and R.G. Collingwood freely drew on Vico's work, particularly his New Science, while creating their own. If Vico was Naples' most brilliant, if uncelebrated, citizen prior to the Enlightenment taking hold in Southern Italy, then Croce (1866-1952) is surely the city's most important thinker of modern times, and the single indispensable Italian philosopher since Vico's death. When a genius of Croce's interpretative prowess, evaluates the work of another, it is inevitable that an explosive mixture will result.A great virtue of this book is its fusion of Croce's unique brand of idealism and aesthetic philosophy with Vico's epistemological, ethical, and historical theories. If Vico's theory of cyclical changes in history, the corsi e ricorsi, remains fruitful, it might be argued that Croce's evaluation of his countryman' ideas represented the next turn of the philosophical wheel toward enlightenment.

Says that even in the darkest and crassest times liberty trembles in the lines of poets and affirms itself in the pages of thinkers and burns, solitary and magnificent, in some men who cannot be assimilated by the world around them.

A reprint of the Library of Liberal Arts edition of 1965.Croce’s Guide presents one of the clearest and strongest defenses of the intuitive nature of art in Western philosophical thought.