{"product_id":"9781845407643","title":"Giovanni Gentile and the State of Contemporary Constructivism: A Study of Actual Idealist Moral Theory","description":"\u003cp\u003eRecent moral philosophers have had little to say about Giovanni Gentile's 'actual idealism’, which is widely dismissed as a kind of obscurantist Hegelianism used to conceal flimsy justifications for the state’s total impunity over questions of morality and truth. While Gentile is increasingly recognised as a major figure in twentieth-century Italian culture, actual idealism itself has yet to be given a full and impartial philosophical appraisal.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003ci\u003eGiovanni Gentile and the State of Contemporary Constructivism\u003c\/i\u003e represents the first book-length treatment of actual idealist moral theory. Part I describes and criticises Gentile’s stated view, showing that it includes several ambiguities that he exploits in order to align it with Fascist totalitarianism. Part II develops a modified version that is more consistent with the basic tenets of actual idealism.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt is argued that Gentile’s theory is best understood as a radical constructivist doctrine according to which all thinking has a moral character. Rigorously conceived, it promotes not uncritical submission to the state, but free and self-regulating thought in the absence of a fully objective reality. Thus Gentile demonstrates both the plausibility and the limitations of any uncompromising form of anti-realist constructivism.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Imprint Academic","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47047631438064,"sku":"9781845407643","price":39.9,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781845407643_p0.jpg?v=1763743875","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781845407643","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}