Niccolò Machiavelli’s The Prince, written in 1513, stands out as the one advice book that transcended all others. In The Prince, Machiavelli argued against the humanist ideal for its insistence on the prince’s virtues as he, instead, provided a synthesis of rational deployment of force as well as the exercise of virtue. Perhaps due to his encouragement for a prince to dissemble, in other words, to make all his actions appear virtuous, whether they are so or not, Machiavelli’s political philosophy, as documented in chapter XV of The Prince, is misunderstood as one which rejects noble virtues in favor of self-interest. Unfairly accused of political scheming, Machiavelli simply provided a guideline for the survival and flourishing of the state, rather than the perseverance of a prince’s own power and wealth.
For this reason, the purpose of this paper is …show more content…
Again, Machiavelli is not a utopian, he is aware that it is admirable to want to be good and to act virtuously; however he also recognizes that, sometimes necessity forces us to not be good. To a large extent, chapter 15, is highly reflective of Machiavelli’s views on human nature, which are more “pessimistic” for the world is packed with crafty and nefarious individuals, who act in their own self-interest, in turn, highlighting that for a prince to have too much goodness, would only mean that they would be destroyed by the people. In order to combat human nature, a prince must follow Machiavelli’s, perhaps, most potent recommendations, which is to know how to do wrong and to be sure of it. In other words, he insists that a prince is not supposed to constantly try to be good, but should also do things others consider wrong, or to more accurately, act in accordance with the
For this reason, the purpose of this paper is …show more content…
Again, Machiavelli is not a utopian, he is aware that it is admirable to want to be good and to act virtuously; however he also recognizes that, sometimes necessity forces us to not be good. To a large extent, chapter 15, is highly reflective of Machiavelli’s views on human nature, which are more “pessimistic” for the world is packed with crafty and nefarious individuals, who act in their own self-interest, in turn, highlighting that for a prince to have too much goodness, would only mean that they would be destroyed by the people. In order to combat human nature, a prince must follow Machiavelli’s, perhaps, most potent recommendations, which is to know how to do wrong and to be sure of it. In other words, he insists that a prince is not supposed to constantly try to be good, but should also do things others consider wrong, or to more accurately, act in accordance with the