Reiko Brady Intro to Political Science 8 March 2013 Idealism vs Realism Machiavelli says the prince only has to seem good‚ not be good. Plato insists that seeming is bad‚ being is good. Nicolo Machiavelli is known as being an realist who accepted that fact that humans are brutal‚ selfish‚ and fickle while Plato was an idealist who believed people could be ruled by a philosopher king who ruled over the warriors and tradesmen of his ideal republic with rationality. In his view the philosopher-king
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The Impact of Niccolò Machiavelli “It is much safer to be feared than loved.” This quotation is an example of the tough and practical political commentary of Niccolò Machiavelli— philosopher‚ statesman‚ and patriot. The son of a poor lawyer‚ Niccolò spent many hours educating himself in his father’s library. In 1498‚ he began a political career in Florence‚ Italy that would lead him to write one of the most important books in history—The The Prince (1513). Machiavelli was not a great artist or religious
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“The Prince‚” Machiavelli explores the characteristics of an ideal leader and offers practical advice on a variety of matters associated with one’s rise to power. Characteristically‚ his arguments are straightforward and rational and he frequently employs historical evidence to strengthen them. One profound hypothesis presents itself in Chapter VIII of this political discourse in which Machiavelli focuses on the necessary evil of cruelty in a position of leadership. Machiavelli quickly acknowledges
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The Renaissance is known for being a rebirth of ancient Greek and Roman ideas. Many historians believe it is filled with literature similar to previous works simply retelling the same story. Niccolò Machiavelli took various ideas from ancient political literature‚ mainly drawing from Plato’s Republic. Next‚ he set out to write his own political work known as The Prince. This piece of literature is considered a handbook for political leadership. He wanted to be in politics‚ although could not‚ thus
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3310-Christina Hughes 10/22/13 Machiavelli: The Prince In The Prince‚ Machiavelli introduced a completely different idea of what is a stable government and his definition of what virtue is compared to previous philosophers such as Thucydides‚ Socrates‚ etc. Previous‚ classical philosophers associated virtue with the good in life. In their eyes‚ a virtuous man is an honorable man. In The Republic of Plato‚ Socrates defines virtue as doing something well and in The Prince Machiavelli defines virtue as your
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Chapters IIV - THE PRINCE Summary Chapter I: The Kinds of Principalities and the Means by Which They Are Acquired Machiavelli describes the different kinds of states‚ arguing that all states are either republics or principalities. Principalities can be divided into hereditary principalities and new principalities. New principalities are either completely new or new appendages to existing states. By fortune or strength‚ a prince can acquire a new principality with his own army or with the arms
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many emotions and many different aspects of their lives that form who we are. When you look at the work The Prince‚ written by Machiavelli you can clearly see how the mind can be filled with so many different ideas on how we are supposed to live this life. From the basics‚ which includes creation versus evolution‚ to even how people perceive you on a daily basis? Machiavelli is very concerned with power of all things. In his book‚ he has devised his ultimate plan to be a successful and powerful ruler
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Machiavelli was born on May 3‚ 1469 in Florence‚ Italy. Florence was considered one of the most dominant Italian power to conquer. It was the main attraction for the renaissance’s influences. Throughout the years‚ Machiavelli’s presence was around the time that both the French and Spanish armies were fighting over the control of Italy. During this time‚ Italy was falling apart because it was deficient in leadership. Machiavelli served 14 years as Chancellor of Florence before he was exiled in
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Machiavelli wanted leaders to be both fearful but at the same time‚ he wants them to be loving and caring. They should keep a balance between these two traits to be a successful leader. Machiavelli says‚ “Here a question arises: whether it is better to be loved than feared‚ or the reverse. The answer is‚ of course‚ that it would be best to be both loved and feared. But since the two rarely come together‚ anyone compelled to choose will find greater security in being feared than in being loved. .
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Dante and Machiavelli define opposite sides of the Renaissance in several ways. Certainly the former believes that God will reveal all and call people to account for their behavior‚ while the latter gives every sign of believing in no God and supposing that scrupulous behavior only makes one a target for ruthless exploitation. This difference in the two could be expressed in terms of religious faith—but they could also be said to have differing views of human nature. Try to get to the heart of
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