Sun Tzu - The Art of War A mysterious Chinese warrior philosopher compiled this book over 2‚000 years ago. It was translated into English by an author named‚ Thomas Cleary‚ who holds a PhD in East Asian Languages and Civilizations from Harvard University. He is the translator of various works in Buddhist‚ Taoist‚ and I Ching studies. It is still the most prestigious and influential book today for study by politicians and military strategists everywhere. The main theme of this book is to "To Win
Premium Battle Military strategy Sun Tzu
The Tao of Pooh In The Tao of Pooh‚ the concept of Taoism is the main focus and each and every character in The Tao of Pooh represents a certain human vice and virtue. He uses every character but Pooh to show how not to live life‚ according to the Taoists. Pooh is basically how Taoism tells one to live while two characters‚ Piglet and Rabbit‚ are shown as ways not to live life. Pooh‚ just is‚ as it says in The Tao of Pooh and that is the key to Taoism. Pooh never worries about anything. He is
Premium Taoism Chinese philosophy Laozi
Ideas on the same topic always seem to differ from person to person. This holds true to the ideas of Machiavelli and Castiglione. The Prince‚ written by Machiavelli‚ and The Courtier‚ written by Castiglione‚ are both somewhat how-to guides for nobility‚ royalty‚ and princes. However‚ there are many distinct differences among the ideas of Castiglione and Machiavelli. Castiglione’s philosophy leads down the path of a well-rounded person; a more peaceful manner. Machiavelli’s philosophy is more straightforward
Premium Political philosophy Prince The Prince
The Church accused Niccolo Machiavelli of being Satan for writing his book The Prince. Machiavelli completed The Prince in 1513. He wrote it as a gift to Lorenzo Medici‚ called the Magnificent‚ ruler of Florence. The political views Machiavelli expressed in his book went against the theology of the Church‚ specifically the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes. Machiavelli wrote to gain control of a principality one must be brutal. "(I)f you are a prince in possession of a newly acquired state
Premium Florence Ten Commandments Cesare Borgia
Machiavelli made many important statements in his work‚ The Prince. One of the most controversial is: “A man who wishes to make a vocation of being good at all times will come to ruin among so many who are not good.” (Par. 7). There is some truth to that statement because when we take it to our perspective‚ it seems as if people that do not do good‚ always manage to obtain what they want. There is a well-known saying that says “nice guys finish last”. This saying is somewhat equivalent to a modern
Premium Truth Political philosophy The Prince
Tao of Pooh: Summary In the book “Tao of Pooh” author Benjamin Hoff uses a specific style to portray the ideas of Taoism. With the use of Winnie the Pooh characters‚ Hoff presents the variety of personalities that exist in the world. Hoff begins to mention the principal ideas such as the “Uncarved Block” also known as P’u. Furthermore‚ Hoff elaborates on the principle of the uncarved block by stating that things that are in their “original simplicity contain their own natural power” (Hoff 10)
Premium Taoism Chinese philosophy Laozi
endeavor and very few rulers have been able to accomplish this. "This leads us to a question that is in dispute: Is it better to be loved than feared‚ or vice versa?" (Machiavelli‚ 51) An effective ruler would be one that relies upon fear without hatred‚ rather than love‚ as described by Niccolo Machiavelli in his book The Prince. In a perfect world all people would be good-hearted‚
Premium Political philosophy The Prince Cesare Borgia
A Contrast of Political Controversy: The Prince versus Capital It is often very difficult to judge which policies and principalities are correct when comparing and contrasting controversial literary works. In The Prince‚ Niccolo Machiavelli presents many ideas that may be looked at as unethical by the general population of a nation. In fact‚ Machiavelli’s ideas were looked down upon by his own nation‚ Italy‚ resulting in his eventual exile. For Karl Marx‚ Capital presents many contradictions
Free Marxism Capitalism Karl Marx
Machiavelli and Aristotle’s writings on man‚ The Prince and Nichomachean Ethics respectively‚ and the management thereof contain divergent ideas of how man should act and reason. They have a similar view of the end: greatness‚ but the means which the two philosophers describe are distinctly different. Machiavelli writes about man as mainly concerned with power and self-assertion‚ while Aristotle desires a society of individuals‚ of honorable men. An excess of the power seeking Machiavellians and
Premium Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics
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 society‚ while Machiavelli endorses
Premium Good and evil Virtue Political philosophy