Machiavelli's The Prince

C. Emory Gutshall
Period F
Fr. Houghton
God and Free Will
9/28/11
Groundhog Day (Film): (Writing Topic 1) …Can Virtue Be Taught? Phil: “What would you do if you were stuck in one place and every day was exactly the same, and nothing you did mattered? Ralph: “That about sums it up for me.” I believe “that about sums it up for everyone,” and if it doesn’t then he or she is just simply kidding themselves. As bleak and austere as that may sound, it is undoubtedly true. The situation of Phil Connors is not just an interpretation of a repetitive bland life. It is an illustration of a major philosophical idea, if not the biggest one at that. The idea that we weren’t put on earth for a concrete purpose, and there is no ultimate objective
in life beyond then what we choose. With that notion in every individuals mind, it is our burden to shape ourselves into what we think is virtuous, and to not do that is to not live a genuine bona fide life. Phil Connors, who previously lived life existentialists could call hedonistic and self-centered, has to now find some meaning and true purpose in life.
Phil must enlighten himself through experiencing the same drab day he dreads the most. So this begs the question, can Phil Connors, the ego-centric weatherman from Pittsburgh, teach himself to virtuous, and intern receive some positive purpose in life? In Machiavelli’s The Prince he states “A Prince (Phil) should not necessarily avoid vices such as cruelty or dishonesty if employing them will benefit the state. Cruelty and other vices should not be pursued for their own sake, just as virtue should not be pursued for its own sake: virtues and vices should be conceived as mean to an end. Every action the prince (Phil) takes must be considered in light of its effect on the state, not in terms of its intrinsic moral value.” This is the mentality that Phil adopts after a night of imbibing and recklessness. He then indulges himself in a frenzy of hedonistic bingeing. He robs an armored car, seduces a woman, and eats like a glutton. He then realizes this is quite unsatisfying and for the first time experiments with “appearing” virtuous, like Machiavelli’s Prince. He sets his sights on something of
actual intrinsic value, Rita. Phil does his homework, and puts on a faux-façade of the good man Rita desires. If we use the ideology of Machiavelli, Phil’s intentions rationalize his quite distasteful means, right? In the predicament of Phil Connors, Machiavelli’s concept is ineffective. Phil’s constant pursuits to woo Rita fail, time and time again. Phil soon realizes he cannot have the only thing he really wants in his new unfortunate loop. It is then common for one to be caught in despair when he or she realizes there is nothing lasting or fulfilling in ones’ life. Albert Camus said that “A world that has no reason leaves a person feeling like a stranger. His exile is without remedy, since he is deprived of the memory of a lost home or of a promised land.” This is more than applicable to Phil Connors at this point in the film. Phil has gone astray and demonstrates his dejection plainly. An example of that is when on another morning of February 2nd, Phil gives his impression on the prediction of Phil the Groundhog, but also his perspective on existence. He says “You want a prediction about the weather; you’re asking the wrong Phil. I’ll give you a winter prediction: It’s gonna be cold, it’s gonna be grey, and it’s gonna last you for the rest of your life.” He then begins to repeatedly exhibit his hopelessness by committing suicide repeatedly. Camus later in his existential creed argued that they were actual good reasons for living even though being, in itself, has no actual meaning. That suicide is quite cowardly, and wasteful. Phil Connors didn’t happen to be enlightened by the works of Albert Camus, but the shear helplessness of surpassing February 2nd, drove him to other means of becoming virtuous. Phil then turns a new leaf, and sets about improving himself and seeking something of proper intrinsic value, Rita, or love. He sought Rita for intrinsic value original but that was just for immediate gratification. Now after spending, literally, half a lifetime with her, he falls in love with her and desires to become worthy of her. He realized that disguising himself to be a good person was ineffective. He then, having no other choice, begins doing good deeds for others such as changing a tire for some elderly women, giving some wrestling tickets to some newlyweds, catching a boy who falls out of the tree even though he never thanks him, and lastly and finally giving money to the old hobo who lives around the corner before he encounters Ned. Spectacularly, Phil finds his enlightenment to do good, quite rewarding. He betters himself, by teaching himself how to ice sculpt, speak French, and to be a concert pianist. He goes about living an exemplarily wholesome day, until in the end, he finds the right formula to win Rita’s affection. The film then suggests that Phil taught himself how to be virtuous through trial and error. I believe that that notion is one that human beings can pursue; That virtue can be taught through experience, both personally and vicariously, if the subject truly willing and seeking high merit. I believe that in the society we live in, it is more common to have people who live their lives as hedonist Phil Connors did, previous to his dilemma. It is less common for one to temper with choices of austerity, and frugality. I feel that the film reveals that it is essential in life to employ the two Latin phrases “Carpe Dium,” and “Summum Bonum.” One must seize the day, while also seeking the highest good. In the film Phil is forced to find the “highest good” because if he didn’t he would be stuck living Groundhog Day for eternity. Fortunately or unfortunately, “most” people don’t go through the same struggle Phil did and must find some way to motivate oneself to be open-minded and seek to be more immaculate today then he or she was yesterday. Regrettably I believe the lesser part of the population live their lives in this way, because the hardest choices in life are the toughest to make. Mahatma Gandhi put’s it simpler: “Whatever you do in life may seem insignificant to you, but it is important that you do it.” That sadly in life what we do in life doesn’t matter, but we should care about the extra congenial medial tasks that we force ourselves to do because ultimately it gets us that much closer to “punching our ticket” to “reserve a seat” in heaven. Plus you become more to the image and likeness of God, and intern become virtuous.