Machiavelli Essay - 953 Words

The Prince MAJOR THEME Machiavelli had a true and abiding love for Florence. He wanted to make Florence great and also find himself a job, as he lost his when the Medici family came into power. He dedicated his book on political science, The Prince, to Lorenzo Medici in the hopes that Lorenzo would be impressed and offer him a job. However, Lorenzo ignored the book and Machiavelli. The Prince is a didactic examination of political power, how to achieve it, maintain it, and expand it. Machiavelli does not take into consideration what is morally right, or amoral, only what is useful and useless. The book is more like a technical manual, and technical manuals only state the facts. The book defines what turns a mere man into a great†¦show more content†¦As Isiah Berlin says in his essay, Machiavelli admired these heroes because they were high-minded, tough, and tough enough to use brutality against the few, to help the public good of the princedom. He especially admired Moses because he was worthy to talk to God. Moses had the opportunity to create a new civilization with the Israelites because they were being treated badly by the Pharoah. Therefore, Moses took advantage of their discontent with their new master and led them in a revolt. Eventually creating a new civilization. Machiavelli admired Moses because of his strength of character that carried him through the difficult trouble of gaining power. 3. Discuss Machiavelliamp;#8217;s opinions on the uses of cruelty to accomplish certain goals. The Prince is about the ways to achieve political power, with no preference for the way in which it is achieved. Machiavelli does not advocate unnecessary cruelty. His book is only about how to obtain and keep a princedom. Machiavelli believes that cruelty is sometimes necessary to aquire or/and keep political power. Machiavelli recognized that in the time he lived a political ruler would have to use cruelty, he writes, amp;#8220;The new prince, above all princes, cannot possibly avoid the name of cruelty;. He also states in Chapter VIII that cruelty may be useful sometimes in achieving certain ends, but it would bring no glory. 1. What doesShow MoreRelated Machiavelli Essay1597 Words   |  7 Pages quot;The term Machiavellian refers to someone who is unscrupulous, cunning, cynical, and unprincipledquot;(Goods 1998). Many scholars agree that this particular adjective would have dismayed Niccolo Machiavelli, the man from whom the term is derived. In reality he has been attributed as being one of the brightest lights of the Italian Renaissance through his works as not only a writer, but also as an influential philosopher of history and political thought. His most famous work The Prince hasRead MoreThe Machiavelli And Machiavelli s The Prince2348 Words   |  10 PagesI have always found great interest in the infamous Niccolo Machiavelli and his ways of thinking; my eye was drawn to him long before I knew I would be studying at Colorado State and even before I had any interest in politics. It was from young man know as Tupac Shakur, and let me tell you it is great to finally understand who Machiavelli is and the things he has done for the outlook on politics after hearing about how much respect and praise he got from the iconic rapper of the 1990s. In this paperRead MorePrinciples Of Machiavelli1615 Words   |  7 PagesIn the 16th century Niccolo Machiavelli presented Lorenzo de Medici with his most prized possession, â€Å"The Prince†. At this time, it was custom to present the prince with your most prized possession, in order to gain their friendship. Machiavelli spent much time studying past rulers and wrote â€Å"The Prince† in which he describes how one acquires and maintains power. At the time, The Prince was not well accepted as it went perceived to go against the Catholic Church. However, today the prince has beenRead MoreMachiavelli as a Humanist1886 Words   |  8 Pageswho is concerned with the interests and welfare of humans. Niccolo’ Machiavelli can be thought of as a humanist. Although opinions on this differ greatly depending on whom you speak with. Machiavelli’s life consists of so many examples and lessons that he has learned throughout his life. Through my paper, I intend to examine his perception of morality based on his political writings and life experiences. Niccolo’ Machiavelli was born on May 3, 1469 and died in 1527. Although we do not knowRead MoreAnalysis Of Machiavelli774 Words   |  4 PagesChasity L Wireman Dr. Michael A. Lazarus HIS 102-W1: Western Civilization II 10/25/2017 There are many reasons why Machiavelli is widely considered the beginner of modern political thought, one of the many is he studied strictly the politicians, and businessmen. Machiavelli recognized the political playing field as a vile place only for the most dominating and cunning of political giants. One of Machiavelli’s most famous work, On Principalities, or known by the other title, The PrinceRead More Machiavelli Essay1438 Words   |  6 Pagesnbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Niccolo Machiavelli, one of the great political minds of the 15th century, accomplished what many mathematicians today only dream of, having one’s name used as an adjective. To be Machiavellian is to demonstrate characteristics of expediency, deceit, and cunning and as Machiavelli wrote in, The Prince, these are the qualities of a great leader. The Prince was published in 1531, creating great controversy with other political thinkers of the time. Machiavelli completely ignored theRead MoreThe Relat ionship Between Machiavelli And Machiavelli s The Prince1075 Words   |  5 Pagesand turmoil, philosophers are able to give their critiques on government and human nature as a whole. Socrates and Machiavelli, both philosophers in what it means to be a proper leader and the role of the people within a society, share contrasting views. Machiavelli, alive during the time of great political turmoil in Italy, is immortalized through his writings in The Prince. Machiavelli was able to use what the political shortcomings he witnesses during his time period as a guide to deciphering theRead MoreThe Prince, By Machiavelli1517 Words   |  7 PagesIn The Prince, Machiavelli doesn’t hesitate to recommend that a ruler employ conventionally immoral methods against his own subjects to maintain authority over them, but he does imply that whatever a ruler does should ultimately benefit the community. A Prince’s actions may be cruel, manipulative, or otherwise immoral, but they put him in the position to govern. On occasion, Machiavelli even suggests that gaining power through immoral acts is the best way to improve a community because immoralityRead MoreThe Prince By Niccolo Machiavelli1472 Words   |  6 PagesPrince by: Niccolo Machiavelli really tries and is successful at dividing politics and ethics to decipher the characteristics of a good and bad political/government ruling leader in this novel. In this reading, I seen 5 points that Machiavelli talked about, and those were: Free Will, Being Hated vs Goodwill, Virtue, A Good Military, and finally Human Nature. These are a necessity to the recipe that Machiavelli is making in this book. In the first few chapters of the book, Machiavelli begins to talkRead More Machiavelli And Plato Essay1564 Words   |  7 Pages Niccolio Machiavelli (Born May 3rd, 1469 amp;#8211; 1527 Florence, Italy.) His writings have been the source of dispute amongst scholars due to the ambiguity of his analogy of the amp;#8216;Nature of Politics; and the implication of morality. The Prince, has been criticised due to itamp;#8217;s seemingly amoral political suggestiveness, however after further scrutiny of other works such as The Discourses, one can argue that it was Machiavelliamp;#8217;s intention to infact imply a positive