Praxis

[Michael Hoover]

> Quintin Hoare and Geoffrey Nowell Smith wrote in their "Introduction" to
> _Selections from the Prison Notebooks of Antonio Gramsci_ (NY:
> *****   The term "philosophy of praxis," best known today in connection
> with Gramsci's Prison Notebooks, in which it is used partly for its own
> sake and partly as a euphemism to deceive the censor, was introduced into
> Italy by Antonio Labriola, the only Italian theoretical Marxist of any
> consequence before the first world war.  Labriola, who died in 1994, was a
> philosopher and historian who had come round to Marxism and to
> participation in the socialist movement fairly late in life, bringing with
> him distinct traces of a Hegelian intellectual formation.  
> Yoshie

typo in above, AL died in 1904 (born in 1843)...

Benedetto Croce studied with and was influenced by Labriola for brief
time that he considered himself a marxist around turn of 20th century.
While Gramsci adopted AL's use of 'philosophy of praxis' to describe 
marxism (been some time since I read AG, did he does so before prison 
or as part of attempt to circumvent fascist censors?), he paid more 
attention to Croce who he considered 20th century Hegel given BC's 
influence in Italy in 1920s.  Hence, Gramsci undertook detailed
critique of Croce in manner that Marx had done with Hegel.

Croce was an Hegelian philosopher of history critical of positivism
& scientism *and* a political activist who was Italy's education
minister prior to fascism.  Although he wasn't a fascist, BC had a
brief flirtation with Mussolini's government claiming that he
might possible introduce ethical element that would moderate
fascist influence.  He would become public opponent of Mussolini
who may have been spared prison because of his international status.
Michael Hoover