Introduction:
Niccolò Machiavelli’s character and the true meaning of his philosophy have been one of the enigmas of modern history (Sabine 328). He was a very controversial thinker. He is known for his infamous reputation. This reputation is the result of his best known book, The Prince, published in 1532. Even though he proclaimed to be a republican, in this work he deals with the prince’s ability to attain power. Machiavelli is claimed to be the founder of “modern” politics, and to have redirected political thoughts. His work contrasts the thoughts of ancient Greek political philosophers. Both Plato and Aristotle believed in the superiority of the state over individuals’ interests. In their ideal, rulers were supposed to build an environment whereby laws, institutions and education were the most important things to preserve. Virtues, such as courage and moderation were always worthy and good, while vices, such as cowardice and dishonesty were considered wrong. Life: Machiavelli was born on May 3, 1469, in a modest family from Florence. He received a rigorous humanist education, learnt Latin from leading scholars, and had access to much of the best of classical history and ideas. However, he did not learn Greek, and this could be the reason why his views are so direct and not balanced by Aristotelian logic (Harris 131). In 1498 he was elected Chancellor of the Second Chancellery, and he was given duties in the Council of the Ten of Liberty and Peace. During the next 14 years he served the republic in a remarkable way. Machiavelli lived in a period of turbulence due to Renaissance Italy and the development of the city state. In 1503, after the elections of the new Pope, Julius II, he joined the Pope’s first campaign of conquest against Perugia and Bologna. Three years later this force was defeated, the Medici family returned to power and Machiavelli was excluded from political life (Harris 132). Machiavelli was later accused of a plot against the Medici, imprisoned and tortured. When he was granted amnesty, he went to live outside Florence with his family but he desperately wanted to return to political life. It was during this period that he concentrated on writing. Works: Machiavelli is mainly seen as a controversial thinker. …show more content…
Indeed, his two best known works The Prince and The Discourses deal with two different and opposite subjects. The Discourses, published in 1531, were written for Machiavelli’s republican friends who shared his same ideas and thoughts. Machiavelli was definitely a practical man, he observed people for what they were and the way they actually behaved, rather than creating a hypothetical position in order to explain reality. (Gardner 1) Machiavelli’s boldness makes him the first modern political thinker.
The Prince was written under the coercion of the Medici family. Machiavelli aimed to gain the political favor of the family through this work. There is enormous speculation regarding the personality of Machiavelli. Indeed, many scholars argue that he was probably aligned with only one of these ideologies. The debate regarding this thinker is about how a real republican could write a manual for princely rule. The similarities in these two books concern the methodological approach used by Machiavelli. In both books, Machiavelli discusses the worthiness of rule, and concludes that not everyone deserves to rule especially those who are in power. Moreover both books are said to be the result of personal experience and work and in both The Prince and Discourses, Machiavelli tried to draw conclusions from factual observations of what people actually did; the empirical or inductive method (Gardner 1). Modern scholars have noticed some discrepancies between the republican sentiment of The Discourses (and The Histories) and the advice to absolute rulers in The Prince. This raised issues in defining Machiavelli’s character, motives and convictions which have been investigated for many years both by historians and by psychologists. (Berlin 26) In The Prince the author analyzes human nature in the political jurisdiction; in a way that revolutionizes the mode his readers see politics. Machiavelli evaluates human nature in a realistic way, presuming that Man is bad, selfish and cruel. The key point of this work is to illustrate how the leader has to obtain and maintain power. The Prince has, indeed, to be cruel in
Niccolò Machiavelli’s character and the true meaning of his philosophy have been one of the enigmas of modern history (Sabine 328). He was a very controversial thinker. He is known for his infamous reputation. This reputation is the result of his best known book, The Prince, published in 1532. Even though he proclaimed to be a republican, in this work he deals with the prince’s ability to attain power. Machiavelli is claimed to be the founder of “modern” politics, and to have redirected political thoughts. His work contrasts the thoughts of ancient Greek political philosophers. Both Plato and Aristotle believed in the superiority of the state over individuals’ interests. In their ideal, rulers were supposed to build an environment whereby laws, institutions and education were the most important things to preserve. Virtues, such as courage and moderation were always worthy and good, while vices, such as cowardice and dishonesty were considered wrong. Life: Machiavelli was born on May 3, 1469, in a modest family from Florence. He received a rigorous humanist education, learnt Latin from leading scholars, and had access to much of the best of classical history and ideas. However, he did not learn Greek, and this could be the reason why his views are so direct and not balanced by Aristotelian logic (Harris 131). In 1498 he was elected Chancellor of the Second Chancellery, and he was given duties in the Council of the Ten of Liberty and Peace. During the next 14 years he served the republic in a remarkable way. Machiavelli lived in a period of turbulence due to Renaissance Italy and the development of the city state. In 1503, after the elections of the new Pope, Julius II, he joined the Pope’s first campaign of conquest against Perugia and Bologna. Three years later this force was defeated, the Medici family returned to power and Machiavelli was excluded from political life (Harris 132). Machiavelli was later accused of a plot against the Medici, imprisoned and tortured. When he was granted amnesty, he went to live outside Florence with his family but he desperately wanted to return to political life. It was during this period that he concentrated on writing. Works: Machiavelli is mainly seen as a controversial thinker. …show more content…
Indeed, his two best known works The Prince and The Discourses deal with two different and opposite subjects. The Discourses, published in 1531, were written for Machiavelli’s republican friends who shared his same ideas and thoughts. Machiavelli was definitely a practical man, he observed people for what they were and the way they actually behaved, rather than creating a hypothetical position in order to explain reality. (Gardner 1) Machiavelli’s boldness makes him the first modern political thinker.
The Prince was written under the coercion of the Medici family. Machiavelli aimed to gain the political favor of the family through this work. There is enormous speculation regarding the personality of Machiavelli. Indeed, many scholars argue that he was probably aligned with only one of these ideologies. The debate regarding this thinker is about how a real republican could write a manual for princely rule. The similarities in these two books concern the methodological approach used by Machiavelli. In both books, Machiavelli discusses the worthiness of rule, and concludes that not everyone deserves to rule especially those who are in power. Moreover both books are said to be the result of personal experience and work and in both The Prince and Discourses, Machiavelli tried to draw conclusions from factual observations of what people actually did; the empirical or inductive method (Gardner 1). Modern scholars have noticed some discrepancies between the republican sentiment of The Discourses (and The Histories) and the advice to absolute rulers in The Prince. This raised issues in defining Machiavelli’s character, motives and convictions which have been investigated for many years both by historians and by psychologists. (Berlin 26) In The Prince the author analyzes human nature in the political jurisdiction; in a way that revolutionizes the mode his readers see politics. Machiavelli evaluates human nature in a realistic way, presuming that Man is bad, selfish and cruel. The key point of this work is to illustrate how the leader has to obtain and maintain power. The Prince has, indeed, to be cruel in