The Prince Seminar
The Prince Seminar
Part 1-Machiavelli’s views on the nature of man and rulers:
1. Are humans fundamentally good or evil? Consider what constitutes ‘good’ or ‘evil’ in this context during the time period.
Machiavelli sees humans as fundamentally evil. Even though he does point out some good attributes of humans, he gives more reason to believe that they are evil. In Chapter 15: Of Those for Which Men And Especially Princes Are Praised or Blamed, he states qualities that make somebody good or evil. “Someone is considered a giver, someone rapacious; someone cruel, someone merciful; the one a breaker of faith, the other faithful; the one effeminate and pusillanimous, the other fierce and spirited; the one humane, the other proud; the one lascivious, the other chaste; the one honest, the other astute; the one hard, the other agreeable; the one grave, the other light; the one religious, the other unbelieving, and the like” (Machiavelli, Page 61-62). Because of the qualities he listed above, I feel as though Machiavelli has a pretty good sense of what makes up a good and bad person. During this time period, people mainly saw evil in those who did not follow the Church, such as the Jews who were blamed for the Black Plague. Machiavelli touches on some of these qualities when he says “the one a breaker of faith, the other faithful...the one religious, the one unbelieving.” If you were a follower of God and followed the Church, then you were considered morally good. However, Machiavelli understands that a person can not possess all of the traits that make up a good person. He says, “I know that everyone will confess that it would be a very praiseworthy thing to find in a prince all of the above mentioned qualities that are held good. But because he cannot have them, nor wholly observe them, since human conditions do not permit it…”(Machiavelli, Page 62). In this quotation, Machiavelli is outright saying that humans can not be good because they can not
Part 1-Machiavelli’s views on the nature of man and rulers:
1. Are humans fundamentally good or evil? Consider what constitutes ‘good’ or ‘evil’ in this context during the time period.
Machiavelli sees humans as fundamentally evil. Even though he does point out some good attributes of humans, he gives more reason to believe that they are evil. In Chapter 15: Of Those for Which Men And Especially Princes Are Praised or Blamed, he states qualities that make somebody good or evil. “Someone is considered a giver, someone rapacious; someone cruel, someone merciful; the one a breaker of faith, the other faithful; the one effeminate and pusillanimous, the other fierce and spirited; the one humane, the other proud; the one lascivious, the other chaste; the one honest, the other astute; the one hard, the other agreeable; the one grave, the other light; the one religious, the other unbelieving, and the like” (Machiavelli, Page 61-62). Because of the qualities he listed above, I feel as though Machiavelli has a pretty good sense of what makes up a good and bad person. During this time period, people mainly saw evil in those who did not follow the Church, such as the Jews who were blamed for the Black Plague. Machiavelli touches on some of these qualities when he says “the one a breaker of faith, the other faithful...the one religious, the one unbelieving.” If you were a follower of God and followed the Church, then you were considered morally good. However, Machiavelli understands that a person can not possess all of the traits that make up a good person. He says, “I know that everyone will confess that it would be a very praiseworthy thing to find in a prince all of the above mentioned qualities that are held good. But because he cannot have them, nor wholly observe them, since human conditions do not permit it…”(Machiavelli, Page 62). In this quotation, Machiavelli is outright saying that humans can not be good because they can not