Niccolò Machiavelli (1469 –1527) was an Italian historian‚ politician and philosopher based in Florence during the Renaissance. He was a founder of modern political science‚ and more specifically‚ political ethics. He wrote his masterpiece‚ The Prince‚ which is sometimes claimed to be one of the first works of modern political philosophy in which the effective truth is taken to be more important than any abstract ideal. The descriptions within The Prince have the general theme of accepting that
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humanist‚ Niccoló Machiavelli believed that religion should not be added to the political spectrum. His ideals revolve around human nature and how it causes people to be merciless‚ selfish and foolish and hopes that a prince does not follow the lead of these negative traits. There are two different sides that a prince should have; he must be able to maintain and punish his people (for those who deserve it) but also to be kind when needed (but to be mostly cruel when necessary). Machiavelli explains that
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LIBERTY IN THE WESTERN WORLD: AN ESSAY ON THE PRINCIPLES FOR LEADERSHIP AND RULE SEEN IN THE WORK OF NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI How far is Machiavelli and advocate of a republic and republicanism? INTRODUCTION The History of Republics and Republicanism has been interpreted in numerous ways leading to the ambiguity seen in the modern world of what a republic really stands for and what are its principles. The same can also be said about Niccolo Machiavelli. His work The Prince has been interpreted
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Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527)‚ Italian historian‚ statesman‚ and political philosopher‚ whose amoral‚ but influential writings on statecraft have turned his name into a synonym for cunning and duplicity. Born in Florence on May 3‚ 1469‚ Machiavelli entered government service as a clerk and rose to prominence when the Florentine Republic was proclaimed in 1498. He was secretary of the ten-man council that conducted the diplomatic negotiations and supervised the military operations of the republic
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Virtue 1: Machiavelli‚ in dedicating the work to Lorenzo de’ Medici‚ reminds the young prince that greatness awaits him because he is endowed with both fortune and admirable qualities. Machiavelli uses the term "virtue" to describe the positive qualities of a prince. In Daniel Donno’s notes‚ he writes that virtue is a word which "implies physical and mental capacity-intelligence‚ skill‚ courage‚ vigor-in short‚ all those personal qualities that are needed for attainment of one’s own ends." (p. 125)
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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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Niccolo Machiavelli. Hobbes was born in 1588 in England‚ when absolutism was taking hold in Europe. His most famous work was "Leviathan"‚ written in 1651. Hobbes discussed the ideal state and innate laws of man and nature‚ among other things. Machiavelli was born in Italy in 1469‚ a time when his home country was ruled mostly by foreign powers. His hometown‚ Florence‚ was still independent. Machiavelli’s most famous work‚ "The Prince"‚ tells of his ideal state and ideal ruler. Machiavelli goes
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Machiavelli: The Realist Political realism did not become a popular concept until it was discussed by Niccolò Machiavelli‚ making him one of the most influential philosophers. According to another philosopher‚ Francis Bacon‚ Machiavelli was “the founder of a new‚ objective science of politics‚ concerned not with what should be‚ but with what is‚ not with hopes and fears‚ but with practical realities” (Wootton XXXVII). Machiavelli’s handbook for princes‚ titled The Prince‚ takes the world as it
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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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the state. The best interests of the prince are gaining‚ maintaining‚ and expanding his political powers or views. Since the prince is the sole authority‚ he has the power over everything and everyone. Machiavelli speaks about this in his books The Prince and The Discourses. In The Prince‚ Machiavelli concerned about the principality of the state and the Prince’s role within the sovereign state. “Men worry less about doing an injury to one who makes himself loved than to one who makes himself feared
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