Beyond irony. Hayden White between Croce and Gentile (Benedetto Croce, Giovanni Gentile)

In his dissertation Masks of meaning: existentialist humanism in Hayden White's philosophy of history (Groningen 2006), Herman Paul characterizes Hayden White's philosophy as a form of voluntaristic existentialist humanism. On the basis of White's relationship with the Italian philosophers Benedetto Croce (1866-1952) and Giovanni Gentile (18751944), Peters argues that though White's philosophy does have some existentialist traits, it cannot be seen as voluntaristic. In his attempts to go beyond Croce's irony, Hayden White eventually came to hold a position similar to Gentile's etica del sapere, though without adopting his fascist political outlook.