Giovanni Gentile's Idealism and Adolf Hitler's “Biological Worldview”
by The Fascifist
There is a common argument that aims to simplify the complex contrast between fascism and communism by framing it as a clash between idealism and materialism. Idealism suggests that reality is a construct of the human mind, denying the existence of an objective reality. On the other hand, materialism argues that the mind plays no role in determining truth. Within this framework, Giovanni Gentile, a philosopher linked to Fascism, developed a theory called actualism or actual idealism. According to this theory, our perception of reality is shaped by the act of thinking itself. Therefore, proponents of this idea claim that communism, including Nazism, aligns with materialism due to its focus on the biological significance of race.
Many intellectuals view Nazism and Fascism as philosophies that are fundamentally incompatible because of their underlying philosophical foundations. Idealism, which asserts that the mind comprehends and molds reality, stands in direct opposition to materialism, which posits that the mind passively observes reality without influence. However, it is important to address a fallacy in this argument. Adolf Hitler's worldview was not based on materialism, and the study of biology is not exclusive to a materialist philosophical framework. In other words, biology and a biological worldview like National Socialism can just as much exist within an Idealist framework as it can within a Materialist framework; it is a grave mistake to assume that philosophic Materialism has a monopoly on the field of biology. It should also be noted that both Hitler and Marx embraced Idealism and traditional metaphysical concepts, which were later rejected by the analytical and materialistic Marxists who came after Engels and Lenin.
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Gentile's Idealism proposes that human consciousness actively shapes reality. Gentile suggests that our perceived reality originates from the divine intellect, as explained in his work, The Theory of Mind as Pure Act. According to Gentile, our experiences, although seemingly material, are intertwined with the laws of nature, which are ultimately established by the divine mind of the uncreated and essential Godhead. From this perspective, the so-called "material laws" are not truly material; rather, they stem from the immaterial realm of God's divine intellect. Consequently, the universe is not material. Everything we perceive as “physical” is ontologically mental and not material. Materialism is thus false.
Hegel, in his Encyclopaedia, discusses race and racial diversity within the context of "Anthropology," which examines the mind in connection with the body. He acknowledges that race distinctions are based on mental perceptions. Helmut Stellrecht, a Nazi influenced by Hegel, defines race as "the ability to think a certain way." The philosophical framework of Gentilean Idealism and the biological idealism inherent in Germanic National Socialism can coexist harmoniously. It is possible to reconcile the biological worldview advocated by National Socialism with the belief that the unchanging laws of nature find their basis in the divine mind. From this standpoint, every aspect of existence falls under the authority of God's divine intellect, determining absolute truth and shaping our understanding of the natural world.
National Socialism further affirms that this is the case when it asserts that biological traits within a human being are “willed by God”. This means that a divine thinking intellect consciously “created” all that we now perceive biologically. But more than that, it further means that each human being is the author of his own decisions when it comes to the biological perpetuation of humanity. It is a thinking human mind that decides to reproduce humanity generation after generation and it is the thinking human mind that decides how to mate and with whom to mate for the sake of biological reproduction. Thus, it is not a materialistic determinism that drives human biological reproduction, but rather an idealistic free will.
