Lao-tzu vs. Machiavelli Government is the essential authority of a country or state‚ which is directly‚ affects society because it provides key securities. Two of history’s greatest thinkers Lao-tzu‚ authors of the Tao-te Ching‚ and Niccolo Machiavelli‚ author of The Prince have similar but very contrasting ideas of government‚ and how people should be governed. Lao-tzu was born in the Chinese state of Ch’u. He spent most of his life working in the library of the Chou dynasty. Once he decided to
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Lao-tzu vs. Machiavelli Government is the essential authority of a country or state‚ which directly affects society because it provides key securities. How directly involved should the government be in the personal lives of society? To answer this I will look to the ideas of Lao-tzu (sixth century B.C.)‚ believed to be author of the Tao-te Ching‚ and Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527)‚ author of The Prince There are few ways in which they are similar‚ but have very opposite views and ideas of government
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Danielle Butler October 16‚ 2011 English 101/ O.C #2-Machiavelli Though often presented as two ideological opposites‚ personally I find there to be a lot more similarities between Plato and Machiavelli than usually acknowledged. Obviously there are some sharp contrasts. If one examines the excerpts from Machiavelli’s “The Prince” and Plato’s “The Republic”‚ it’s easy to conclude that Plato believed it to be essential for a government leader to be just‚ good‚ and free from corruption
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Machiavelli’s View on Human Nature The author‚ Niccoló Machiavelli‚ is different from other humanists in his time‚ because his view on the nature of man contradicts what most humanists believed. Humanists of that time believed that individuals played an important role to the well-being of the state‚ and that “… they also believed in classicism’s basic tenet that human nature is inherently rational and good” (Western Humanities‚ pg. 343). Machiavelli‚ however‚ had a negative view on human nature
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Qualities of a Prince Machiavelli’s “The Qualities of the Prince” gives the idea of what makes an all around good ruler. He wrote guidelines touching several topics such as war‚ reputation‚ generosity‚ mercy‚ and cruelty. All of these topics preach words on how to avoid being hated but still keep power. Machiavelli’s guidelines say‚ a prince should hold absolute control of their territories‚ and there should be no limit necessary to accomplish this result. Concerning military‚ war must always
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The Prince/A Man Of All Seasons: Analysis of Ethics PSC 504 September 26‚ 2013 In his book The Prince‚ Machiavelli presents a theory asserting that man needs a powerful leader in order to be successful. Machiavelli felt that a Prince must act in a way that guaranteed stability and order. However‚ his emphasis on political convenience was not in the service of the individual power of a Prince‚ but in allowing that Prince to do what was necessary for the sake of the
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Plato’s Republic and Machiavelli’s The Prince each present an “ideal” state along with a description of what an “ideal” founder of such a state would be like. The ideals of these two great men differ immensely and the foundation for these differences can be found in their distinctive views regarding human nature. Once this is assessed the picture that each man paints of their ideal ruler or founder becomes much clearer. Plato promotes the concept of philosopher-kings who rule over his imagined Utopian
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Machiavelli: Hero or Villain? Writing one of the most acclaimed books of all time must not have been easy; not one bit. Stating that‚ the fact that Frederick Douglas‚ among many others‚ is capable of criticizing Machiavelli and his genius work on The Prince‚ really infuriates me. Unconsciously‚ Niccolo Machiavelli became one of the first and most important philosophical leaders of all time after writing The Prince. Although The Prince is considered one of the greatest pieces of political theory
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Machiavelli: The Prince The author‚ Niccolo Machiavelli‚ in The Price‚ comes across as someone who is different from other political theorists because his theory contradicts what most humanists believe. During that time period humanistic theorists believed that individuals not just a ruler made a difference. Machiavelli believed the opposite; he believed that no matter what is or should be done‚ there is a reason to expect that it will be. As stated by the author‚ “for how we live is so far
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In the chapter assigned‚ Machiavelli asserts that it is not only acceptable‚ but necessary for a ruler to go back on his word if his previous promises place him at a disadvantage. In this paper‚ I will argue that the purpose of this passage is to persuade readers of the notion that being a good leader many times involves actions that would not be considered “good” as such. Then‚ I will use examples from the text to explain how this falls into Machiavelli’s overall themes of efficiency and pragmatism
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