La fine di un’amicizia. Osservazioni su Benedetto Croce – Giovanni Gentile, Carteggio, 5: 1915-1924

The publication of the fifth and final volume of the Correspondence between Benedetto Croce and Giovanni Gentile sheds light on the philosophical and political reasons that led the two protagonists of Italian idealism to break off their thirty-year friendship. The letters cover the years from 1915 to 1924, the years of the war and the affirmation of fascism, which saw Croce and Gentile fighting on opposing sides: the former neutralist and liberal, the latter interventionist and then fascist. The political reasons for the end of the friendship are joined by philosophical ones: Croce in fact accused Gentile of “theoretical and ethical indifferentism”, due to his rejection of error and evil.