L'Istituto di Studi Filosofici (1939-1944). Note dai diari di Enrico Castelli

The Institute of Philosophical Studies (1939-1944). Reflections on Enrico Castelli’s Diaries notes · The Institute of Philosophical Studies, directed by Enrico Castelli, was founded after the Italian promulgation of racial laws (November 17, 1938) and after the subscription of the Axis Cultural Pact between Germany and Italy (Kulturabkommen, November 23, 1938). The Institute took over the values of the Italian Philosophical Society but its cultural politics was conditioned by the new historical situation. An important group, animated by Enrico Castelli and Ernesto Grassi, proposed the humanistic and religious (Catholic) tradition of thought as leading trajectory of the cultural Axis Pact, in order to confute the racist politics of Rosenberg’s Amt Wissenschaft. Other members, such as Balbino Guliano, Armando Carlini, Erminio Troilo, Emilio Bodrero, respected the German supremacy. The paper explains the link existing between the research projects of the Institute between 1939 and 1944 and the historical experience of its members, assuming as starting point Castelli’s diaries notes. The objective connections of those members with ministerial offices of fascism regime were mediated by personal intentions and problematic dynamics.