The Political Philosophy of Giovanni Gentile

Abstract

This paper is dedicated to the political philosophy of an Italian neo-hegelian philosopher Giovanni
Gentile. The principal subject is Gentile’s vision of politics, the investigation of the key notions of
his political thought: “duty”, “character”, “state”, “nation”, and “law”.
The roots of Gentile’s political philosophy lie in the actualist ontology. This is made evident by
referring to his works “General Theory of Spirit As Pure Act”, “Genesis and Structure of Society”,
“Introduction To Philosophy”. The paper also reviews the links between Gentile’s political
philosophy and the ideals of “Risorgimento” (In the first place, to the political thought of Giuseppe
Mazzini), outlines his influence during the fascist “ventennio”.