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Submitted by salama on December 8, 2007
Category: Philosophy
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Niccolo Machiavelli was born in Florence in the summer of 1469. It was from the rural Tuscan setting which Machiavelli called home that he began to underpin his political philosophy. 350 years after his death, his works would still be considered synonymous with evil'. This essay will specifically focus on two particular evils'; the attainment of power and the substantiation of power. I will particularly focus on perhaps his most critically acclaimed work, The Prince. I will thus split this essay into the two parts mentioned above.
Perhaps the most ironic part of Machiavelli's achievements was the author's ability to detach himself from the models he portrays in his literary works. The author is often damming on the innate state of human nature, yet is not a misanthrope; far from it. Machiavelli considers all humans to be different, of rich diversity and very complex in their thoughts. From this philosophical underpinning, we can begin to unravel the genius that is Niccolo Machiavelli.
Firstly, let us discuss how a Prince is able to gain power. Machiavelli suggests that such a feat is made possible by one of two tings; Fortune and virtue. Virtue, roughly translated as a great desire to achieve one's goals will make all possible. The only Fortune required (which we can now very roughly translate as luck) is the opportunity to challenge for power. Machiavelli cites Hiero of Syracuse's rise to power; forging new alliances as to construct fresh political realities on which he could mould and execute his private desires. As Machiavelli states in The Prince, Hiero's only Fortune was opportunity, He had so much virtue while still a private citizen that someone who wrote about him said'that he lacked nothing to reign but a kingdom'". (Machiavelli, 1532 (2005), 23). Virtue is sometimes not a necessary leadership quality, however if a leader acquires power by Fortune alone, he will encounter difficulties when he reaches the top, even though...
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