power‚ authority and legitimacy. [Spragen‚ 1997‚20]. These concepts are explored through the perspectives of Niccolo Machiavelli who provides insight on power‚ John Locke who states the manner in which authority( the right to rule) is established‚ Thomas Hobbes‚ who shares the means in which authority’s maintained and Plato with his idea of legitimacy- rightfulness in rule. Machiavelli wrote an ontological political thesis of what power is observing that the manifestation of social conflict was because
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forced to grant that his (Machiavelli’s) teaching is diabolical and he himself a devil‚ we are forced to remember the profound theological truth that the devil himself is a fallen angel. - Leo Strauss‚ “Thoughts on Machiavelli” (1958: 13) The sheer infamy Niccolo Machiavelli has drawn to himself in the five centuries since he wrote The Prince underscores the fact that he was no political infant. On the contrary‚ he has been called‚ amongst other things‚ a ‘great sinner’ (Dostoevsky‚ cited in
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Aristotle Notes Introduction: Aristotle’s Definition of Happiness “Happiness depends on ourselves.” More than anybody else‚ Aristotle enshrines happiness as a central purpose of human life and a goal in itself. As a result he devotes more space to the topic of happiness than any thinker prior to the modern era. Living during the same period as Mencius‚ but on the other side of the world‚ he draws some similar conclusions. That is‚ happiness depends on the cultivation of virtue‚ though his virtues
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2419657 Mr. Zimmerman Philosophy 201 Aristotle Paper 1 Moral virtue‚ according to Aristotle‚ is formed by habit. This means that you begin to decide your moral virtues in the early years of your life‚ and continue to form them as you age‚ depending on the habits you form during your lifetime. In Aristotle’s mind‚ moral virtues are a characteristic not decided by nature‚ but by the individual himself. In Aristotle’s‚ Nicomachean Ethics‚ Aristotle states‚ "This shows‚ too‚ that none of the
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Essay Question #1 Ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle wrote the Nicomachean Ethics‚ portraying the significance of studying the realms of ethics and political science. In his work‚ Aristotle focuses on the theme of how human beings can attain the chief human good—happiness—at which everything aims. Aristotle argues that ethics‚ the study of moral character‚ and political science‚ the branch of knowledge and analysis of political activity and behavior‚ must be closely studied together in order
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Chapters IIV - THE PRINCE Summary Chapter I: The Kinds of Principalities and the Means by Which They Are Acquired Machiavelli describes the different kinds of states‚ arguing that all states are either republics or principalities. Principalities can be divided into hereditary principalities and new principalities. New principalities are either completely new or new appendages to existing states. By fortune or strength‚ a prince can acquire a new principality with his own army or with the arms
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The Lesson Between The Myth Of The Cave In the story of Plato’s “Myth of the Cave” Plato’s analogy portrays a group of people being imprisoned in a cave and being deceived into thinking that shadows on a cave wall are all reality has to offer them. They have lived their entire life this way‚ and never stepped to the outside world. But if they could manage to somehow escape‚ they would exit out of the cave. For the first time‚ the prisoners would see sunlight and dimensions of such‚ and their mind
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democracy. I will then assess this critique based on the contemporary model of democracy experienced by Plato. Furthermore‚ I will argue that the critique is still applicable in a modern context by presenting various problems that modern democratic models pose for the critique and then demonstrating how Plato’s argument can overcome them. In order to clearly understand why Plato finds democracy so objectionable it is necessary to understand how democracy worked in an Ancient Greek
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Thesis: How accurate or inaccurate were Aristotle ’s writings on meteorology? Introduction: Aristotle wrote about many subjects that can be grouped into five general divisions: logic‚ physical works‚ psychological works‚ natural history works‚ and philosophical works. One of the little known physical works concerned meteorology. Aristotle ’s views on meteorology are fascinating‚ but many of the views were not accurate. This paper compares only a few of his views to actual meteorological facts
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under an obligation to obey. (Stirk and Weigall‚ 1995:39). Central to this tenet of authority is the idea that authority must have justice. This keys the question‚ what is justice? Which according to Plato is no different to asking what form of the state is idealistic. (Stirk and Weigall‚ 1995:2). Platos conclusion suggested that the best form of the state is the moral reordering of the whole of society (Annas‚ 1881:13) This suggests that morally society is to return to the way things ought to be in
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