Italian philosopher whose Christian spiritualism synthesized contemporary theories espoused by Giovanni Gentile and Benedetto Croce about the nature of phenomena. Basing his theory on the dichotomy of God and worldliness, he defined existence as dependent upon self-awareness and the identification of an “exterior world.”

Educated at the universities of Bologna and Athens, Carlini succeeded Gentile as professor of theoretical philosophy at the University of Pisa (1922–59). His major works include La vita dello spirito (1921; “The Life of the Spirit”), La metafisica di Aristotele (1928; “The Metaphysics of Aristotle”), La religiosita dell' arte e della filosofia (1934; “The Religiousness of Art and Philosophy”), and Lineamenti di una concezione realistica dello spirito umano (1942; “Outline of a Realistic Conception of the Human Spirit”). Alla ricerca di me stesso (1951; “On the Research of Myself ”) is his moving autobiography.