Introduction:
Niccolò Machiavelli’s character and the true meaning of his philosophy have been one of the enigmas of modern history (Sabine 328). He was a very controversial thinker. He is known for his infamous reputation. This reputation is the result of his best known book, The Prince, published in 1532. Even though he proclaimed to be a republican, in this work he deals with the prince’s ability to attain power. Machiavelli is claimed to be the founder of “modern” politics, and to have redirected political thoughts. His work contrasts the thoughts of ancient Greek political philosophers. Both Plato and Aristotle believed in the superiority of the state over individuals’ interests. In their ideal, rulers were supposed to build an environment …show more content…
Indeed, his two best known works The Prince and The Discourses deal with two different and opposite subjects. The Discourses, published in 1531, were written for Machiavelli’s republican friends who shared his same ideas and thoughts. Machiavelli was definitely a practical man, he observed people for what they were and the way they actually behaved, rather than creating a hypothetical position in order to explain reality. (Gardner 1) Machiavelli’s boldness makes him the first modern political thinker.
The Prince was written under the coercion of the Medici family. Machiavelli aimed to gain the political favor of the family through this work. There is enormous speculation regarding the personality of Machiavelli. Indeed, many scholars argue that he was probably aligned with only one of these ideologies. The debate regarding this thinker is about how a real republican could write a manual for princely rule. The similarities in these two books concern the methodological approach used by Machiavelli. In both books, Machiavelli discusses the worthiness of rule, and concludes that not everyone deserves to rule especially those who are in power. Moreover both books are said to be the result of personal experience and work and in both The Prince and Discourses, Machiavelli tried to draw conclusions from factual observations of what people actually did; the empirical or inductive method (Gardner
Niccolò Machiavelli’s character and the true meaning of his philosophy have been one of the enigmas of modern history (Sabine 328). He was a very controversial thinker. He is known for his infamous reputation. This reputation is the result of his best known book, The Prince, published in 1532. Even though he proclaimed to be a republican, in this work he deals with the prince’s ability to attain power. Machiavelli is claimed to be the founder of “modern” politics, and to have redirected political thoughts. His work contrasts the thoughts of ancient Greek political philosophers. Both Plato and Aristotle believed in the superiority of the state over individuals’ interests. In their ideal, rulers were supposed to build an environment …show more content…
Indeed, his two best known works The Prince and The Discourses deal with two different and opposite subjects. The Discourses, published in 1531, were written for Machiavelli’s republican friends who shared his same ideas and thoughts. Machiavelli was definitely a practical man, he observed people for what they were and the way they actually behaved, rather than creating a hypothetical position in order to explain reality. (Gardner 1) Machiavelli’s boldness makes him the first modern political thinker.
The Prince was written under the coercion of the Medici family. Machiavelli aimed to gain the political favor of the family through this work. There is enormous speculation regarding the personality of Machiavelli. Indeed, many scholars argue that he was probably aligned with only one of these ideologies. The debate regarding this thinker is about how a real republican could write a manual for princely rule. The similarities in these two books concern the methodological approach used by Machiavelli. In both books, Machiavelli discusses the worthiness of rule, and concludes that not everyone deserves to rule especially those who are in power. Moreover both books are said to be the result of personal experience and work and in both The Prince and Discourses, Machiavelli tried to draw conclusions from factual observations of what people actually did; the empirical or inductive method (Gardner