...Cara Chang Humanities 300 07 September 2012 Exploring The Major Themes of Machiavelli's "The Prince" To find out what motivated Machiavelli to write “The Prince”, it is necessary to look at the Italy that he lived in at the time and where he gained his insights into governance. He grew up in a time where Popes had their own armies and went to war with Italian city-states in hopes of gaining more territory. Power held by the rulers was tumultuous at best; people and cities might fall at any time. The Popes weren’t the only forces that major cities such as Venice and Florence had to deal with. Foreign countries such as France, Spain, the Catholic Church, and Switzerland also were engaged in battles for control and influence in the region. Most of these major cities relied heavily upon mercenaries to help fight their battles. These Condottieri, or mercenary leaders, were very fickle and changed sides without warning which made political and military alliances very weak, which in turn made Italy as a whole weak ("Niccolò Machiavelli"). Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli, was a founder of modern political science who lived in Florence during the Renaissance period. He was born on May 3, 1469, in Florence, Italy. Niccolò was the first son and third child of attorney, Bernardo di Niccolò Machiavelli, and his wife, Bartolomea di Stefano Nelli. At a young age became a pupil of a renowned Latin teacher, Paolo da Ronciglione, where he was taught history, humanities, grammar,...
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...Machiavelli Born on May 3, 1469, in Florence, Italy, Niccolò Machiavelli was a diplomat for 14 years in Italy's Florentine Republic during the Medici family's exile. When the Medici family came back to power in 1512, Machiavelli was dismissed and briefly imprisoned. Machiavelli as an individual has been described as aloof, as standing to one side of life ‘with a sarcastic expression continually playing around his mouth and winking from his eyes’. This report is based on Machiavelli’s most famous work, The Prince, which was written in 1513-14. While The Prince was not the foremost book of this kind, it was the first to propose a government that dominates with no respect for religious belief or morality. Machiavelli did not particularly pay heed to religious law in the manner he lived his life, but he likewise did not particularly care for the Catholic Church of the time because of the lack of ethics demonstrated by the Pope's and other supposedly "religious men's" actions at the time. The Prince, a handbook for politicians on the employment of ruthless, self-serving cunning, inspiring the term "Machiavellian" and establishing Machiavelli as the "father of modern political theory."(History.com) There are many types of leaderships that after being present over the centuries. Leadership styles have developed over time, with a prominent shift from the autocratic and directive leadership in the twentieth century to a more participative and democratic style of the younger generation...
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...NT1 The Prince: Machiavelli’s Methodology on Leadership Niccolo Machiavelli, the first modern thinker, dedicated The Prince to Lorenzo De Medici and the De Medici family as a “how to guide” on becoming a successful ruler and more importantly, how not to be a successful ruler. As in any philosopher’s works, there are many components that are comprised into one common theme. Machiavelli presents a strong methodology and main concept which is to act in your own self-interest if you want to become a leader, and to do so by any means necessary. In The Price, one of his most famous works, Machiavelli establishes his leadership guidelines on specific categories such as virtue, goodwill, hatred, and reputation, just to name a few. Machiavelli’s goal in The Prince is to distinguish why human nature is the leading cause of a princes’ ultimate success or failure. Machiavelli strongly feels that the idea of politics is not a natural, innate part of humankind. It is crucial for a prince to reflect on the actions of great men that came before him and the history surrounding them. Within the text, Machiavelli does not focus on unity nor does he focus on the virtuous soul. He strictly concentrates on consequences because they are facts which we can verify. Due to this belief, Machiavelli’s ideas represent the consequentialist approach to morality. Meaning, consequences are driven purely by an individual’s actions. Therefore, the means by which individuals go about taking those actions...
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...Machiavelli’s as a Humanist: Examples and the Lesson He Learn Humanities 101 Strayer University Instructor: Professor Coppelli CERTIFICATION OF AUTHORSHIP: I certify that I am the author of this paper and that any assistance received in its presentation is acknowledged and disclosed in the paper (with both in-text citations and a Works Cited sheet at the end of the essay). I have also cited any sources from which I used data, ideas, or words, quoted, paraphrased, or summarized. I also certify that this paper was prepared specifically for this course and has not been used for another course (and will not be) either in whole or substantial part. TYPE NAME AND DATE HERE: Power is defined as; a person, group, or nation having great influence or control over others; the might of a nation, political organization, or similar group and; forcefulness; effectiveness (Inc., 2011) . A humanist is defined as one who is concerned with the interests and welfare of humans (Inc., 2011). Niccolo’ Machiavelli sought after the power of politics because; he was constantly explaining to individual how to get power and how to hold on to it. He thought,” humanists suppose to believe that individual only grows to maturity, both intellectually and morally through participation in life of the state’ (Machiavelli, 1531, revised 1975, 1981, 1995, 1999). Everyone has their own opinions about him, and his way of life; depending on whom you speak with. His life has some examples...
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...Church, to humanism, a devotion to the humanities of rhetoric, arithmetic, and other subjects. An example of this movement, as seen in Machiavelli’s The Prince, which describes Niccolo Machiavelli’s ideal ruler and how to obtain stability as it was lacking during the time he was writing this due to a power shift from the Mediterranean to Northern Europe. While Machiavelli promotes stability, he has a disordered love towards his country as he promotes...
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...government deployed planes, helicopters, artillery forces, and snipers to eliminate protesters further angering the people of Libya. As time wore on, members of Gaddafi’s government and army were also beginning to turn against the Dictator and his views realizing what he was ordering was unjust. Gaddafi, beginning to feel cornered, hired mercenaries to attempt to halt the protests by executing his own soldiers and people while taking control of hospitals to refuse treating the wounded who were protesting against him. Eventually, news spread to the United Nations and a warrant for Muammar Gaddafi’s arrest was issued for crimes against humanity. Several countries also came together to offer aid to those wounded while arming and supporting the rebels to rid Libya of corruption....
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...Running Head: MANAGEMENT THEORY 1 Management Theory Management Theory: Great Leaders of made of Machiavelli, Nietzsche, and McGregor Tyng Wu Benedictine University Humanities 250 Professor Amy Hanridge June 1, 2014 Management Theory: Great Leaders of made of Machiavelli, Nietzsche, and McGregor Theories of leadership in any period are driven by a set of principles and hopes on the part of the philosopher. A core assumption about leadership is that leaders who succeed have a “vision,” a tangible goal toward which they and their followers can strive towards. While this is true on one spectrum, there are others that believe in the philosophy of Lao Tzu who said, “A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving” (Tzu, 2014). Participative management and leadership style of the modern times was influenced by the philosophers of the past. In modern leadership and management we see Machiavelli’s active rule, not by fortune, but by virtue and prudence. We also see Nietzsche’s will to power, which is more internally driven first and foremost, but the internal becomes outward actions. Finally we see McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y in management styles, with micromanagers or enlightened leaders. McGregor’s Theory X and Machiavelli viewed human beings in a negative light, where they must be controlled by any possible means. However, McGregor’s Theory Y falls more in line with Nietzsche’s philosophy of the will to power, where it...
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...In his “mirror of princes” style novel, The Prince, Niccolò Machiavelli explains step-by-step how deception is an essential tactic that princes must utilize in order to successfully control their state and maintain power. Interestingly in Calderons’ “Life is a Dream” and Shakespeares’ “Othello,” two characters featured exemplify the traits that Machiavelli expects princes to have. One of the characters is a person of nobility and the other is not. this is a weird fragment, you can better incorporate it so that your paper seems smoother. One might question whether Machiavelli would approve of a servant using his tactics to get his way, similarly as a King would. In his novel, The Prince, Machiavelli advises rulers to risk morality, in order...
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...The Morals of the Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli The first great political philosopher of the Renaissance, Niccolo Machiavelli was born in 1469 in Florence, Italy. He was a politician whose fortunes mirrored those of the republic that was founded in the absence of the ruling Medicis and ended upon their return to power in Florence. The Prince, written in 1513 but not published until 1531, is the work that earned Machiavelli his lasting reputation and is a seminal text of political philosophy still widely regarded—and read—today. It is a study of leadership and an argument that leaders must do anything necessary to hold on to power. It is this message that turned Machiavelli's name into an adjective. As you read the following excerpt from The Prince, observe the different qualities of Machiavelli's ideal prince and compare it to those qualities we refer to when we call something or someone "Machiavellian." ON THE REASONS WHY MEN ARE PRAISED OR BLAMED —ESPECIALLY PRINCES It remains now to be seen what style and principles a prince ought to adopt in dealing with his subjects and friends. I know the subject has been treated frequently before, and I'm afraid people will think me rash for trying to do so again, especially since I intend to differ in this discussion from what others have said. But since I intend to write something useful to an understanding reader, it seemed better to go after the real truth of the matter than to repeat what people have imagined. A great many men have...
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...Plato’s Republic and Machiavelli’s The Prince are each hugely important texts in the history of philosophy. Even though they were written approximately 1900 years apart, they represent two of the most valuable commentaries on political philosophy. They are of course, very different in their discussions of philosophy, yet some similarities are evident. Plato writes about philosophy through the mouth of Socrates, illustrating indirectly through a lengthy dialogue his own ideas and opinions. As a contrast to this method of narration, Machiavelli writes The Prince as a letter of personal advice to Lorenzo Medici. Within his work, Machiavelli makes numerous recommendations that have earned him the label of a heartless and cruel man. Plato, on the other hand, makes much of his discussion about the true nature of philosophy and the just treatment of all citizens. Despite numerous differences, Plato and Machiavelli each desire the rule of philosophers in their states, but while Plato approaches this with direct rule and education of philosopher-kings, Machiavelli appeals to manipulation and deceit in order to secure the rule of philosophers. Plato’s aim in his political state is for the greatest good of all people, through the best balancing of the natural elements on an individual and political scale. According to Plato, the human soul is comprised of the reasoning part, the spirited part and the appetites. The parallel elements within a city are the rulers, warriors and artisans...
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...09/26/2012 Organizational Behavior Leadership Styles There are many great leaders and thinkers in the history of man kind, but I have chosen three that intrigued me the most. The first two are from the same country of origin and the same time frame as well, but two very different views on life. I felt that Lao Tzu and Confucius would show a good contrast in two different thought processes. The third person I chose to write about is from a completely different country and time frame. Machiavelli is more similar to that of Confucius but with his own twist of life and what needs to be accomplished to govern a population successfully. The following is a very small and basic explanation of the thought processes of these great thinkers. According to (Cotterell 2003) Lao Tzu was the man also known as the ‘madman of Ch‘u’, or the first of the ‘irresponsible hermits’, according to the Confucians, was Li Er who was born around the time of 604 BC, but has become usual in China to refer to the founder of Taoism as Lao-tzu, the Old Philosopher. He was the keeper of the royal archives at Loyang, but few details are known of his life. Lao-tzu was ‘a hidden wise man’, who was reluctant to form a school and gather a following, and partly because of this the Confucians believed he was irresponsible. More so however it is because of the way he lived while teaching others in his way. Confucians believed in structure and hierarchy, and this was the...
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...The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/1751-1348.htm JMH 12,3 Management history: an umbrella model 278 Robert Morris University, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, USA Nell Tabor Hartley Abstract Purpose – To assist colleagues in tying current ideas to previously established practices. To generate discussion of the current relevance of students’ understanding management history. Design/methodology/approach – A review of representative classic theorists with an eye toward matching their behavior to that of current newsmakers. This is presented in a model to insure that like areas are compared. Findings – The past is in the present. Although we may live in the day of “enlightened” “collaborative” management; there are still successful people who operate differently. Practical implications – Readers of the paper will be able to make immediate application of the model. Originality/value – Even presentation of the obvious has value. The model format is a dynamic document that others can use and improve upon. Keywords Management history, Management theory Paper type General review ˆ Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose. The more things change, the more they stay ¸ the same. Whatever the intended interpretation, this well-known phrase communicates the idea that the past serves as an accurate prologue and interpreter for the present as well as the future. Plutarch, centuries ago, observed: To make...
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...WESTERN CIVILIZATIONS Western Civilization HMS 301 1 WESTERN CIVILIZATIONS Main Topics The Black Death The Effects of the Black Death The Rise of Constitutional Monarchy The Hundred Years’ War The Decline of the Church The Renaissance Italy: Birthplace of the Renaissance Italian Renaissance Humanism Machiavelli and Power Politics Leonardo Da Vinci Global Travel and Trade The African Cultural Heritage West African Kingdoms The Europeans in Africa Native American Cultures Maya Civilization The Empires of the Incas and the Aztecs The Spanish in the Americas and the Aftermath of Their Conquest The Impact of Technology Christian Humanism and the Northern Renaissance Luther and the Protestant Reformation The Spread of Protestantism The Catholic Reformation 2 WESTERN CIVILIZATIONS The French Revolution Napoleon Bonaparte The Industrial Revolution Advancing Industrialism Colonialism China and the West Social and Economic Realities Nineteenth-Century Social Theory: conservatism, liberalism & socialism The Radical View of Marx and Engels Picasso and the Birth of Cubism Futurism, Fauvism and Non Objective Art The Birth of Motion Pictures Freud and the Psyche Total War and Totalitarianism The First World War The Russian Revolution Nazi Totalitarianism The Second World War Identity and Liberation: Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X 3 WESTERN CIVILIZATIONS The Black Death ...
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...01-Ellis-45685:01-Ellis-45685 7/16/2008 7:00 PM Page 1 Chapter 1 The Study of Personality Introduction Chapter Goals • Provide an overview of the controversies in the field of personality • Explain the purpose and utility of studying personality to mental health professionals • Review the various definitions of human personality • Offer insights into the history of personality theories • Introduce some of the methods used to measure or evaluate personality • Present some of the major personality theorists who have developed the concepts we will be studying S ubdisciplines of psychology such as social psychology, cognitive psychology, and indus- trial psychology endeavor to find common principles that will explain everyone’s behavior. These subfields have achieved considerable success in doing so, since we are all similar in many ways. Despite our similarities, however, there is little doubt that each human being is unique—different from every other individual on the planet. Seeking to understand human commonalities and seeking to account for individual differences are complementary, insofar as we cannot fully apprehend differences if we cannot identify our common characteristics. Personality psychology looks for answers to numerous questions. In what ways do human beings differ? In what situations and along what dimensions do they differ? Why do they differ? How much do they differ? How consistent are human differences? Can they be measured...
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...Pre-Socratic Period Thales of Miletus Background: Thales of Miletus (fl. c. 585 BC) is regarded as the father of philosophy. Thales of Miletus was considered one of the Seven Wise Men of ancient Greece. Thales was the first of the Greek natural philosophers and founder of the Ionian school of ancient Greek thinkers. Works/Writings/Philosophy: His is said to have measured the Egyptian pyramids and to have calculated the distance from shore of ships at sea using his knowledge of geometry. He also predicted an eclipse of the sun. In geometry Thales has been credited with the discovery of five theorems like the one that a triangle inscribed in a semicircle has a right angle. He tried to discover the substance from which everything in nature is made off and suggested water. Thales is important in bridging the worlds of myth and reason. He initiated the revolutionary notion that to understand the world one needed to know its nature and that there was an explanation for all phenomena in natural terms. That was a giant step from the assumptions of the old world that supernatural forces determined almost everything. While considering the effects of magnetism and static electricity, he concluded that the power to move other things without the mover itself changing was a characteristic of "life", so that a magnet and amber must therefore be alive in some way (in that they have animation or the power to act). If so, he argued, there is no difference between the living and the dead...
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