Niccolò Machiavelli

Does Walter White’s Virtù begin to diminish as the show “Breaking Bad” continues and what is it that Walter wants as his glory? These are the questions I have been asking myself as I have attempted to write this essay. The television show I selected for this essay was “Breaking Bad” by Vince Gilligan. The show follows the life of a chemistry teacher named Walter White, who has discovered that he has stage 3 lung cancer. Upon the discovery that he has a death sentence, Walter embarks on a…

State for Plato will be at its best if the people are treated as many. Plato said this in the middle of book IV talking about the State. “I do not mean to say in reputation or appearance, but in deed and truth,” (Internet Classics). This is where Machiavelli greatly disagrees. In Machiavelli’s principality, one has to have a good reputation in order to align with other principalities in the area so they will not be at risk of being conquered. For example, if a principality is known for a weak…

destruction and the manipulation of nations, with espionage and more moral wars than physical ones. Through secrecy and political finesse, the United States proved triumphant, but not before forfeiting the respect and trust of its citizens. Niccolò Machiavelli, a famous Italian philosopher, said…

Fate is the predetermined course of someone's life that cannot be controlled. The fate of one's life limits his or her ability from doing certain things. For example, if a girl is bound to marry a certain person, she is limited in her ability to have a relationship with another man. Fate limits freedom in most cases. In some classical literature from the canon, one can see that fate has specific limits. The first limit is determinism where all events are controlled by some supernatural power…

who inspire fear in them than love. But the thing is that the reciprocity in love will never strike back and people are not in a position to humiliate their leader. When it comes to people thinking about you, would you rather be feared or loved? Machiavelli said it is better to be feared and I think I disagree with that for several reasons. ‘Better to…

that followed, deteriorated heavily with the nationalist masses who took to their own upper authorities. Niccolo Machiavelli, author of the quintessential text on maintaining power, The Princeexhibits the apex of growing passivity among the masses by describing a great deal of extreme tactics usable to control a populace (55). In advising his authority - and suffering imprisonment, Machiavelli extended the tenets of Renaissance humanism to its logical conclusion, presenting the final product of…

time by Real Clear Politics. A corrupt leader could be considered a Machiavellian. Dictionary.com describes a Machiavellian as someone who follows the principles analyzed and described in The Prince. The Prince, is a book written in in 1513 by Niccolo Machiavelli that was dedicated to the Magnificent Lorenzo de' Medici. It is widely believed to be a handbook to leaders on how to gain power, and how to maintain it. There have been many leaders throughout world history that have displayed traits…

Lawrence Delbert Cress and Robert E. Shalhope both write extensively researched articles about the history of the Second Amendment, but they come to very contradictory conclusions. There are a number of questions that both Cress and Shalhope were attempting to answer. What is the historical background for how the writers of the Second Amendment would have looked at the basis for the Second Amendment? What sort of cultural influences at the time of the writing helped to shape the views of writers…

Ecclesiastes 1:9 says, “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.” This quotes rings true in light of all broad aspects of humanity, but upon viewing the Renaissance, one can see a very direct correlation, especially in looking at the concept of humanism of which the root was a drive to go to the source of information. However despite this newfound rush to a source, there were a flowering handful of ideas and discoveries…

even the president of the United States, has its ups and downs, its rewards and its challenges, and its reasons to persevere. Leadership is teeming with moral quandaries, but the most pressing dilemma is balancing efficiency with sincerity. Niccolo Machiavelli once asked if it was better for a leader to be loved or feared. In a school or community setting, no leader should be feared, and being loved may be an exaggeration, but I interpret Machiavelli’s wisdom as the issue of whether to please…