...examining the culture and historical progressions. However, it is more evidently seen through the people who broke the social norms and queues. These are people with ideas that were revolutionary enough to either shake a system by increasing its vulnerability or ultimately lead to an amendment in relevant intuition. However, being a revolutionary is a very general and neutral term. It boils down to much more positive and negative components like activism and rebellion. There is rarely a revolutionary that didn’t have a positive or negative effect on their period in time and likely many generations and societies that came far after. There are three innovative thinkers from western civilization that encompass the term revolutionary: Descartes, Machiavelli, and Sepulveda. These three represent distinct ideas that were each magnanimous in their own right. However, each philosophy that these thinkers carried had a variance in intent and reasoning that each boil down to skepticism and cynicism. Skepticism and cynicism differ in their ability to allow new room for new ideas, and ultimately, their lasting impression on history. The beliefs of Renee Descartes are arguably of the more momentous and renowned in the history of western thought. Leaving his footprint in many aspects of academia like physics, mathematics, and philosophy his curiosity and skepticism he was ultimately beneficial for society as a whole. It seems that of the three philosophers of note,...
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...In The Prince, by Machiavelli, he discusses the nature of the prince, how he should arise to power if not inherited by blood, and the rules in which to rule his domain. He primarily wrote this for the sake of the Medici family who would later transcend history as an infamous banking family that produced not only a queen but two Pope’s. The contents of this book were extremely controversial and were not published until after Machiavelli’s death but to this day it still holds to some degree influential power. As a Prince one must appear to have righteous qualities such as mercy, kindness, faithful, etc. but that is only the outward appearance that he must give off. The Prince should always have the capabilities of doing evil, he must be able use these qualities without hesitation when the need arises. For example, in the case of generosity versus parsimony, he claims that being too generous will lead to his depreciation as well as loss of his own major resources, which will be needed to be made up for in taxes. While on the other hand, either discontinuing or limiting your generosity will not be good for your reputation. So the Prince would rather be more frugal than generous. Several other guidelines that an excellent Prince must follow is not that of what laws to pass or who to execute but that of the emotions. The Prince, Machiavelli claimed needed to be feared yet loved all at the same time. Fear keeps his people in place but taken too far and the people begin to hate you...
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...Running head: THE PRINCE The Prince Book Synopsis ########## University of ##### Dr. ##### #### 16, 20## The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli reveals an interesting perspective of leadership and ethics relating to how a prince should obtain land, control it and maintain it by any means necessary. In this book, Machiavelli provides a clear definition of the different types of states or principalities, recommendation on how to govern these principalities and how to expand a prince’s domain. Furthermore, he explains ways to evaluate the strong points and vulnerabilities of other principalities and concludes with the qualities or characteristics a prince should possess to maintain his status. Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of this book is the suggestion Machiavelli gives about the characteristics a prince should develop in order to be successful, particularly the idea of responsibility, kindness or compassion, and the concept of trust or faith. This paper will focus on these key characteristics or qualities Machiavelli suggests a prince should possess and compare them with leadership based on character. Character based leadership suggests there is a direct correlation between character, ethics and how leadership is developed. It is based upon seven “classical virtues”, courage, faith, justice, prudence, temperance, love and hope. Each of these virtues describes a certain aspect of character and, when they become...
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...The Mandrake Name: University Name: Course: Instructor: Date: Two main characters and their role in this play Machiavelli's Mandragola performance has many exciting characters, in my opinion, the character that is captivating in this drama is Messer Nicia. The satire associated with his role kept the entire audience immersed in a barrage of laughter: despite his apparent foolishness and naivety, he was wealthy with an attractive and charming wife. Through the play, Machiavelli has wittingly portrayed the perception that knowledge is power through capturing the simplicity that shows Messer’s gullibility. The other characters in the play continuously trick him despite his affluence. In an illustration, Calimaco conjures up a lie about being a physician by way of pretending to be an expert in the medical field with a few utterances in Latin (Maloney and Machiavelli, 2008). Through his poise in portraying the role of a doctor, Calimaco eventually convinced Messer to persuade his wife to ingest the potion and sleep with a stranger. The level to which Messer was being tricked; despite his wealth and stature in the society, he still fell for the deception. Friar Timoteo role in this play was to convince the unwilling Lucrezia of her best interest into drinking the potion and sleep with another man. As Lucrezia’s confessor, Friar managed to persuade her to drink the potion and seek forgiveness for sleeping with another man as it was in God’s will. Ligurio enticed Friar with...
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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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...Revenge is often brought upon someone when one does something horrifying to another. Niccolo Machiavelli once said, “People should either be caressed or crushed. If you do them minor damage they will get their revenge; but if you cripple them there is nothing they can do. If you need to injure someone, do it in such a way that you do not have to fear his or her vengeance”. Machiavelli’s quote speaks on how if someone does you harm and you feel you must do harm back, to do it in such a way where they will regret the harm they did upon you and where you will never fear his or her revenge. In William Shakespeare’s, Titus Andronicus, it shows how a series of acts of revenge is taken place and how that synchronizes the characters into a cycle of eye-for-eye and tooth-for-tooth violence. We are first brought into Titus Andronicus when Titus, the protagonist, kills Tamora’s eldest son as a way of retribution for the loss of some of his own children. Because of the killing of her son only causes seek for revenge on her behalf, she then does as so. “That what you cannot as you would achieve, you must perforce accomplish as you may (28-II.1)”. As retribution to Titus, Tamora here gets her sons, Chiron and Demetrius, to rape Titus daughter Lavinia and describe her as a “hunt” they will do in the woods. Although this might not be seen as a big enough revenge, it gets to the point where, as Machiavelli said, she will injure someone and do it in a way that she wont fear his vengeance. In addition...
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...In this paper, I will argue that Machiavelli is correct: a leader needs to be beast-like and must break their word when it suits their purpose. In support I will argue the following; a ruler must assume characteristics of both lion and fox to be an effective ruler, then I will argue he must be amoral with his decisions as a ruler, finally he must become an actor who is unpredictable so that he may break his word effectively. A ruler needs to assume characteristics of both lion and fox to be an effective ruler. According to Machiavelli, the characteristics of a lion demonstrate power and strength. This is politically useful when he is challenged. Unfortunately, being a lion is ineffective because without the ability to...
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...In The Prince, Niccolo Machiavelli outlines the specific paths that any new or aspiring prince must take in order to be a successful juxtaposition leader. Since he naturally provides numerous historical examples for both successful and unsuccessful approaches, their is perhaps the most effective rhetorical strategy on display in this text. As such, it is only logical that we examine the most successful example of a prince, that being Ferdinand of Aragon, so as to illuminate Machiavelli’s argument in greater detail. The most striking element of Ferdinand’s success seems to be the successful management of time. That is, Ferdinand seems to appreciate the role that management of time plays in general distraction, and in quelling any potential...
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...Most people think that the world is a Wheel of Fortune and we have no choice other than staying passive to its consequences. Machiavelli employs “fortune” in The Prince in a very distinct way. He suggests that despite the inevitable power of fortune, humans can resist it. He proposes two analogies for understanding the human situation in the face of events. Fortune is analogized as a ruinous river or a woman who likes young and aggressive men. Throughout my paper, I will argue how Machiavelli’s depiction of Lucrezia in The Mandrake Root is an allegorical equivalent to the discussion of fortune as a woman in chapter 25 of The Prince. The first parable between discussion of fortune as a woman and the depiction of Lucrezia arises when Machiavelli states that “Fortune is the arbiter of one half of our actions, but that she still leaves the control of the other half, or almost...
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...First, Saccarelli was using Rousseau to make the claim that he was praising Machiavelli and his theory. He says, “His praise for Machiavelli’s deceit is itself an indication that Rousseau approved its skillful use when confronted with the pervasive and dangerous forces of tyranny”. Machiavelli when he wrote his very long letter to the Medici’s was a guide on how to secure their power as well as how to become a benevolent ruler. I think it’s fair to say Rousseau was not agreeing with Machiavelli at all. Machiavelli in his writing was using power as an overall way to control mass amounts of people, but knowing when to use vice as the major argument for virtue. Furthermore, Machiavelli claimed that murder, not over taxing, and taking advantage...
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...Tom, Well Jesus’s teachings are spreading and people are believing in his work every day. Like I said in my book, The Prince, that our founders had great virtue and they were successful in their rise of ruling our nations. They took advantage of a situation and rule with great pride. This new guy has virtue indeed like our founders but, I don't think he will get very far. To be a successful ruler, you need to have good arms and to be prepare to protect yourself at all times. In my work, I stated “The principal foundations that all states have, new ones as well is old or mixed, are good laws and good arms. And because there cannot be good laws where are good arms there must be good laws, I shall leave out the reasoning on laws and shall speak of arms” (Ch.7, pg.48). He has good laws but, he doesn't have the good arms to enforce the people to follow. How can he expect the people or even the great to follow him if he has no protection? He states that God has our back but God won’t stop a thief from stealing or a murder from killing. In order for him to take what is rightful his, he must have the support from the right group. He got the support from the people but, from the great that is going to be hard. They can easily put him down if they want. He can't rule against two different it’s impossible. I know because Borgia had the same dilemma with choosing who take side with. I think Jesus should use the great to get his power and to spread his teachings and then, he betrays the...
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...Niccolo di Bernardo dei Machiavelli was an Italian philosopher, writer, diplomat, historian and a Politician, who lived during the ‘renaissance era’ in Italy. He had been born in Florence on May 3, 1469. He was the eldest son of his family. His family was rich and had owned large tracts of land in the rolling. But Machiavelli was not such rich man. He described himself as a “without gainful employment”(King, 2007, p3). To many, Machiavelli is seen as an ‘evil person’, who is widely known for his maxims of politics, where he believes that for one to be considered as a strong rule, he must possess the necessary guts and bravado to rule with an iron fist, and be harsh to his subjects (King, 2007). His philosophy on politics and how...
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...The Prince by Niccollo Machiavelli was written, apparently, to guide those in power at the time the book was written. It serves as a tool to keep any territory in order by addressing many types of establishments and predicaments a “prince,” or a ruler, could get into. It uses the successes and failures of famous and infamous rulers as evidence to correct the actions of some and to commend others. Some of the ideas, such as killing off anyone who conspires against you, clearly are brutal and inhumane. However, around the time Machiavelli wrote it, Europe warred against itself tumultuously. Any “princes” reading this book would have good reason to be violent, simply to defend themselves. The guidelines presented in The Prince may not be applicable...
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...1. The question I was given was number 7. Whether it is easier to maintain in power by the help of the nobles, or the help of the people. After reading this book, Machiavelli makes it clear that it is easy to stay in power by the support of the people. The people and the nobles are opposite of each other. The nobles want to dominate and keep the people down, but the people want to avoid such dictatorship. The nobles want to rule the people, but the people don’t want to be governed by such strict rules. The people are smart and act fast. They come up with an Idea that if they make a regular person into a prince, that he will have the power to keep the people safe from the nobles. They want to hide behind the Prince and his powers. The one huge...
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...Different between knowledge and opinion according to plato –…According to Plato "Opinion is the medium between knowledge and ignorance." ……It is amazing to me that some people can sense the scale of knowledge so easiliy and to them it is second nature. Yet there are others who may actually be a majority who insist on defending opinions with their last breath while remaining closed to this scale of knowledge………"Opinion is between the knowing of the true idea and the ignorance of the unreal"(Plato -Republic). ………Plato's perspective is beyond the senses, thus the question of 'can sense' is not applicable. Re Plato's Forms, the best one can do is to speculate them as pseudo-rational concepts via pure reason (not via the empirical senses)………In order to make sense and turn what is speculated to knowledge, i.e. as matter of facts, empirical sensual proofs are needed. One good example of this knowledge is a proven scientific hypothesis……….The idea of a soul that survives physical death is one that is speculated and has no empirical basis. According to Kant, they are transcendental illusions based on fallacious thinking, but nevertheless useful in some sense (psychological)…….2. Rousseau examine link between ‘force’ and ‘right’ –…….According to Rousseau, force cannot be the foundation for legitimate political authority. People obey those stronger than themselves out of necessity, not by choice. Thus, the right of the strongest cannot create the sense of a duty that is necessary to establishing...
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