Preview

Pattern of Distruction- Machiavelli vs. Bacon

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2431 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Pattern of Distruction- Machiavelli vs. Bacon
16 November 2009
Research Paper
Destruction: It’s Inside Us All

The pattern of destruction is in each and every human being, and is buried within their very natures. This destruction is the root of all evil that is done by human hands. It comes in many shapes, sizes, and forms but, all lead to the same end. The end is what is recorded, but the beginning is what needs to be researched. Who is to say that if the beginning was averted, that the ending would have never happened? Human nature is a destructive force, and therein lays the danger. The danger of the pattern of destruction being infectious, and how it finds a way to seep into everyone’s mind and cause various forms of evil. This destructive pattern can present itself in a physical act of destruction; the never ending cycle, the recurring pattern, and the trend of presenting most within the family and within one’s self. Destruction manifests in two broad topics named mind and reason.
Within the mind, the mental aspects of the pattern of destruction include fear, hatred, the belief that one is superior to another, lack of control, and self-destructive patterns. Within the reason category, there are the physical aspects of personal gain, and the rise and quest for power. Two great philosophers, Machiavelli and Francis Bacon, write of the destruction through man. Machiavelli’s writing of “The Qualities of the Prince,” and Bacon’s writing “The Four Idols,” show their views of human nature and how it can become a destructive force. The quest for power is one of the evils of human nature. In Machiavelli’s “Qualities of the Prince,” the ruler is subject to a rise in power, and with it the driving force of trying to gain more. He writes, “a prince, therefore, must not have any other object nor any other thought, nor must he take anything as his profession but war, its institutions, and its discipline; because that is the only profession which benefits one who commands; and it is of such importance that not



Cited: Aitchison, Steven. Eight Destructive Thinking Patterns and How to Change Them. Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Live. July 2008. <http://www.stevenaitchison.co.uk/blog/2008/07/02/8-destructive-thinking-patterns-and-how-to-change-them/> Black, Joanne. Patterns of Destruction. New Zealand Listener, Oct 2009. <http://www.listener.co.nz/issue/3623/columnists/14176/patterns_of_destruction.html> Jacobus, Lee. A World of Ideas. Bedford/ St. Martin’s; Boston, MA. c. 2010. Machiavelli 37-53; Bacon 579-595. Landry, Peter. The Springs of Human Motivation: Thoughts on the Nature of Man. 2006. <http://www.blupete.com/Literature/Essays/BluePete/Man.htm#rfn1> Vitale, Joe. Patterns: Self Destruction Mind Trick. Law of Attraction. Nov 2009. <http://blog.mrfire.com/?p=1654> Zmora, H. Love of Country and Love of Party: Patriotism and human nature in Machiavelli. History of Political Thought. 424-445: 2004.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Machiavelli was an author and an aspiring political figure who had a strong influence on several aspects of Europe’s government. Due to his critical writings in The Prince, many historians see Machiavelli as a cruel and diabolical political figure whose true intentions were to gain power for himself. However, after looking further into Machiavelli’s political past, one can see that Machiavelli is in fact an intelligent man who possesses a hidden motive to write his novel. In his work, he covered several topics that were used by future city-state leaders to help them become successful. Machiavelli proves to be an astute political mind who used his political experience to assess the actions of famous princes and to write The Prince as a noteworthy…

    • 931 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Niccolo Machiavelli was an Italian historian, politician, diplomat, and philosopher during the late 1400s early 1500s. Machiavelli is considered the father of modern political theory; and his theories are most prominent in his short book, “The Prince”. Machiavelli’s “The Prince” is main purpose is to tell rulers how to remain in power once they have gained it. The best way to go about ruling according to Machiavelli is to simply rule well. However if this does not work Machiavelli recommends several different strategies such as the use of violence. During Machiavelli’s time his theories were not widely accepted and because of this he died in shame. Machiavelli acted on his thoughts and beliefs despite what society taught and believed. However once time passed Machiavelli’s philosophies were better understood and accepted. Other philosophers began take portions of his philosophy to add to their own. This brought upon a new respected look to Machiavelli rather than the shameful look he died with.…

    • 439 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    However, Machiavelli, no matter how extreme, violent at times, rigorous, and blunt he may come across, by setting examples and guides structured around the utilization of ruthlessness and egocentric cunning as the process of gaining political power, showed what a clear mind he had on what it takes to be an awe-inspiring leader, master of the art of winning a battle, and conquering lands. In this paper, by comparing the two, human nature and political potency, through the use of different ideologies of both, Plato and Machiavelli, corroborated that they were very powerful, unparalleled influences in the philosophy of human nature and the processes of political power as theorist of their…

    • 566 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are many forms to degrade a person, some are deep wounds that can leave an imprint forever, and some go through one ear and out the other. There have been many occasions where one’s life is played upon, where the only solution is death. But there are two of those imprints I want to focus on; revenge and hatred and how these two abhorrent features can destroy a person physically and spiritually.…

    • 755 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Overall, Machiavelli shows that in order to be an effective prince, one must disregard the morality of one’s actions in certain times for the welfare of the state. This strong belief shows that Machiavelli’s best interests are in the state and not in the general population. Because he…

    • 358 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Machiavelli's philosophy was that "The end justifies the means." This meant that the end result is the most important, and how you got there was of no importance. The Prince was a book of advice to rules on how to found a state and how to stay in power. Machiavelli explained in his book the many different ways to gain power. One way was to acquire land. The four methods that he discusses to acquire more land is: Your own arms and virtue, fortune, others' arms, and inequity. To Machiavelli, the word virtue meant manliness and strength. Machiavelli also advocates the use of evil to achieve any goals. He gives an example of Agathocles of Syracuse as a proof that this works and will enable the prince to rule the land peacefully through fear. "Born of a potter, this one always had an iniquitous life throughout his years: nonetheless, he accomplished his iniquities with such virtue of spirit and of body that, having joined the militia, he rose through its ranks to become praetor of Syracuse. Being established in rank, and having decided to become prince and to keep with violence and without obligation to others what had been conceded him by agreement... ...one morning he convened the people and the senate of Syracuse, as if he had had to deliberate things pertinent to the republic; and at a preordained nod…

    • 1540 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Introduction: Many people who have read The Prince by Niccoló Machiavelli were appalled by Machiavelli’s fierce and authorative tone he used to assert his ideas, especially his concept of how the ends justify the means, which slowly made people begin to criticize him and his book as immoral, wicked, and evil. For this reason, Machiavelli began to be insulted as a ruthless and evil person, or in the adopted term, a Machiavellian. Machiavelli didn’t wish to care for morals or spiritual integrity; however, he didn’t arrange to establish the approach to wickedness. As a matter of fact, he argues that the concept the ends justify the means are meant to be followed, but only when necessary commands for it to happen.…

    • 2621 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    A common reaction of the carnal nature of the human being is to seek the destruction…

    • 2281 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    George W. Bush, our current President, must keep a copy of Machiavelli’s most celebrated work, “The Prince “(1513), on his desk in the Oval Office. In my opinion, Bush and his administration’s actions mimic Machiavelli’s advice to the Prince on the tactics that he should use to stay in power. I am going to discuss how President Bush uses Machiavellian principles.…

    • 868 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Evil a Learned Behavior

    • 6329 Words
    • 26 Pages

    What is evil? Is it characterized by a desire to cause hurt or harm, “an evil mood”? What causes people to do evil? The strong feelings of hatred and dislike that builds up in all of us or simply that all our emotions are constantly on the dark side for such a long period of time. What is right from wrong when the hate in our hearts makes us all make terrible mistakes and commit evil. The writings of Confucius say, “There is no light without darkness, no positive without negative, no good without evil.” Throughout the history of humanity, humans have committed inconceivable and unthinkable acts of cruelty towards one another. From the brutal wars during the times of the ancient Greeks and Romans, to the modern area of ethnic cleansing and genocide one cannot help but wonder what is the root cause of this evil. Unthinkable numbers of human life has been lost in every corner of the world from the genocides in Armenia and Nazi Germany to the guerilla wars in Vietnam and Cambodia and presently to the devastating conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Sudan. Evil is a learned behavior which is illustrated in dictators, school violence, and classical novels such as Lord of the Flies by William Golding and Night by Elie Wiesel.…

    • 6329 Words
    • 26 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    LOTF

    • 1565 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Human nature: a concept so intricate and esoteric that it has caused bewilderment in the minds of the most intelligent men to have walked on earth. Morality- an important component of human nature- is the ability to choose between right or wrong. Tracing back to our roots, Adam and Eve`s act of disobedience, it is evident that since the beginning of times man has chosen to do wrong, showing that human nature is bad. Still, some insist of its being good, like Socrates, a Greek philosopher, who argued that ``it is impossible for a human being to willingly do wrong because their instinct for self interest prevents them from doing so``. Nevertheless, looking at tragedies like the Holocaust or World War II, one has reasons to believe that man is definitely wicked and evil. William Golding begs to differ and believes that although man is indeed bad, he is also capable of good. His allegorical novel, Lord of the Flies, scrutinizes our iniquitous human nature and reveals mankind`s true potential for evil, acknowledging, however, that good could be found in the most remote areas of man.…

    • 1565 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Believer or non-believer, we all appear to suffer from the problem of evil. Perhaps in the highly economically and technologically developed countries we live in now we are faced, on a day to day basis, with far less evil, than those 90 years ago on their way to fight in WW1. But there is always a presence of evil. Although it may not be first degree, we see it in the news on a daily basis. Natural, Moral and Metaphysical evil will affect all of us in our lifetime, whether it be a natural disaster, violence or are eventual death, these three different types of evils will be discussed in further detail later in the essay. The problem of evil only seems to affect…

    • 2433 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Claim: The author believes that education must make us aware of humanity’s capability for evil and destruction.…

    • 407 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Both St. Augustine and Machiavelli believed that in order to understand the true nature of society you must see men for what they truly were. Augustine and Machiavelli are similar in their pessimistic views toward human nature, looking at human self-love and self-interest and believed it to be full of evil, cruelty, betrayal, violence and tied that relationship into the creation of war. For both philosophers a good society is actually something that for almost all men is an unreachable attribute that can only be written about and not actually fully experienced in my view. For Augustine I feel it is a truly heavenly earth where all men are divine and are as close to the city of Heaven as you can be on earth. For Machiavelli it is a state of complete acceptance of each man’s role and how that role fits into society like a puzzle piece. In order to examine each philosopher’s view further, we must break their thoughts into three separate categories which are: human nature, political authority, and religious beliefs. This essay will take an in-depth look at both St. Augustine and Machiavelli, compare and contrast their views, and provide evidence that on some level the two thinkers were very similar in their ideology.…

    • 2815 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    I found this essay quite radical but very interesting. I think that although I wish it weren’t true, that most politicians today have this sort of mindset. I believe this piece of literary work to be the most contradicting of Machiavelli’s…

    • 289 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays