Idealism Reconsidered

In this pivotal essay, first published in 1933, de Ruggiero explains why he no longer considers himself an idealist. He criticizes the forms of Hegelian and post-Hegelian idealism that had animated his early philosophical work, as well as that of Croce and Gentile. While acknowledging the value of its 'incomparably profound exploration of the life of the mind', he argues that modern idealism, especially in its recent forms, has resulted in intellectual narcissism--claiming privileged insight into the truth, while in fact making real problems incomprehensible and insoluble. The essay concludes with a brief sketch of the kind of inquiry with which de Ruggiero thinks we should engage, motivated by a sincere concern for concrete problems and a corresponding desire to solve them.