Background * Niccolo Machiavelli born in Florence Italy‚ May 3‚ 1469 * Father was a lawyer * Family had own personal library that had books on Roman and Greek philosophy * Saw the troubles of the French invasion (1493) * He was employed in diplomatic services and as a historiographer. * Wrote many books‚ but is best known for his masterpiece The Prince in 1513 * Never considered himself a philosopher * Yet he is considered one of the greatest philosophers * Died
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Unlike the idealistic ancient philosophers such as Plato‚ who discusses politics in “the context of things above politics” (Machiavelli vii)‚ the modern philosophers‚ Niccolò Machiavelli and Thomas Hobbes‚ take a realistic approach in explaining political actions and outcomes. Considered to be among the first social scientists‚ they both try to delve deep into the nature of mankind and its relationship to politics. In the course of doing so‚ both authors seem to believe that virtue and morality‚
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Thoughts on Ruling: Machiavelli VS. Petrarch In the fourteenth century‚ the humanist philosopher Francesco Petrarch wrote a letter entitled How a Ruler Ought to Govern His Sate. Nearly a century later‚ another philosopher by the name of Niccolo Machiavelli wrote a book about governing‚ The Prince. The two documents show many similarities in content and theme. While the two wrote in similar subject matter‚ it is clear that these philosophers possess distinctly different viewpoints on how a ruler
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principles in conducting a human life. By his employment of Socrates as his spokesperson‚ the reader learns of a society in which a merited aristocracy would rule‚ thus resulting in a civilization where all citizens are equal and no one is looked on as an alien. Instead‚ each citizen would simply fulfill their dictate of civil justice with the resulted effect being an emphasized state of activity rather than achievement. To begin the transition‚ Socrates describes the necessary removal of stories within Greek
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War‚ Politics‚ Castiglione‚ and Machiavelli During the Renaissance period‚ many great minds expressed their ideas and talents to their fullest potential. Neither Baldesar Castiglione nor Niccoló Machiavelli were exceptions. In Castiglione?s greatest work‚ The Book of the Courtier‚ he describes the qualities that should be possessed by the perfect courtier in a compilation of made-up conversations between the members of the court of Urbino. In arguably Machiavelli?s best work‚ The Prince‚ he sets
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Prince At the end of the 14th century‚ Italy was still politically organized by city-states. Emerging as one of the most influential writers of the Renaissance‚ Niccolo Machiavelli was a political analyst‚ whose aim was to free italy from foreign rule‚ as well as to unite and strengthen the Italian city states. Machiavelli believed Italy could not be united unless its leader was ruthless. In 1513‚ he wrote his best-known work‚ The Prince‚ in which he describes the ways that a prince may gain
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Niccolo Machiavelli is a great influence on many poloticians‚ philosophers‚ and leaders alike. His name has also come into our grammer as Machiavellian or Machiavellism meaning a brutal or realist view of something perhaps not the most moral of methods but it is effective. In Niccolo Machiavelli’s day and age he was one of the few that could read and write literacy was left primarily to preists and poloticians. He was oviously a very skilled politician and had a knowledge for the art of war.
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The Prince‚ one of the most popular and well known doctrines of political thought was also one of the greatest works of Niccoló Machiavelli. First published in 1513‚ The Prince was written in response to the failure of the Greek-based Italian city-states. Machiavelli wrote The Prince because‚ despite being a firm Republican‚ he was also well-documented as a strong patriot. He wanted that his people live under a free but effective government‚ but he decided that if his nation has to be ruled by
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characteristic of being a great leader is the ability to make decisions. Starting from making clear of your own position; in contrast to being the swing boat‚ it does not gain much reputable praises from any groups of people. "The Prince‚" by Machiavelli understands the importance of decision making and the respect for sticking to your decisions. According to a personal experience from this summarization‚ an UPS manager stated "I don ’t care if you make a bad decision‚ as long as you make a decision
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Apology is a public speech; Crtio is a private speech • Socrates ○ was the first philosopher concerned with human affairs (ethics‚ morality) ○ Socrates originally devoted his time to science ○ Later abandoned science and shifted attention to ethics-philosophy ○ Never wrote anything; so how do we know anything about him? Because of: § Plato § Xenophon § Aristophanes (Clouds)- accuser ○ Plato is the mouth piece of Socrates in most cases § But not verbatim; a lie in such
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