MACHIAVELLI’S POLITICAL

PHILOSOPHY
1. Historical Context of Machiavelli’s time:
A. Renaissance vs. Middle Ages.
B. Italy and Florence.
C. Basic characteristics of the Humanism.
2. Philosophical context:
A. Political philosophy in Greek times: Plato, Aristotle.
B. Political philosophy in Middle Ages: Augustine of Hippo and Tomas of
Aquinas.
3. Machiavelli’s Political Philosophy:
1. Biography of a politician in Renaissance times: Machiavelli and the
Medici.
2. Political Realism
3. State’s Reason: main goal of the Prince.
4. Good laws and a good army
5. Political science and Machiavelli.
RENAISSENSE VS. MIDDLE AGES
The Renaissance (XIV and XV centuries) is considered the start of
Modern times because it is more like today. Medieval life was kind of a
dark life. In the Middle Ages, life was just a short interlude until death,
and poverty was respected. Human lives revolved around God and The
Catholic Church had a strong influence in politics.

By the time of the Renaissance, big changes had occurred: Barbarians, the
Vikings, and Magyars were gone. Now there were strong central
monarchies throughout most of Europe. Papacy and feudalism had
declined. People were getting sick of the old attitudes.

Renaissance" means "rebirth" because it was believed that the human

spirit had to be reawakened as it was in the classical (Greco-Roman) times.
ITALY AND FLORENCE Florence prospered during the Renaissance
because it was a crossroads for traders, for
 Five big states (Venetia, Florence, Milan, finance, thanks to banking, and for ideas. The
Vatican e Naples) and four small ones city was opened up to the ideals and
(Piamonte, Siena, Geneva e Lucas) philosophies of distant lands, and absorbed
 1454 (Maquiavelli 1469-1527) Peace of
these into the writing and art it produced; that
art then flowed freely outward to the rest of
Lodi: after years of war conflicts among the Italy and the European continent. The Medici
Italian states, Lorenzo de Medici got a peace maintained the stability of these connections
agreement in between Italian territories with through financial and political means.
the help of Foreign mercenary armies (France,
Germany, Spain)
 Italy then gets to be the center of the
disputes between the risings absolute
monarchies of Europe
 Italy heads the new economical situation in
Europe as well, leading Europe to capitalism
and the rising of a new social class that takes
the place of the old nobility: the bourgeoisie
 Long government: that which includes the
participation of new social class.
 Narrow government: that which not
includes such participation.
The nobility is not any more the only
POLITICAL SUBJECT.
A NEW CONCEPTION OF
HUMAN BEINGS
Individualism. People thought it right to be themselves - the great man can
shape his own destiny
Humanism. Humans are the centre of the universe and the "measure of all
things.“
Well-Roundness. Humans could do well at many things: "The Renaissance
Man“ as a whole educated man in all the arts.
Classicism. People revived an interest in ancient Greece and Rome.
 Neo- Platonism: coming back to Plato’s and Neo – Platonism's
philosophies, with a new interest in magical and mystical elements in them.
 ANTHROPOCENTRISM: Humankind as the central element of
existence, especially as opposed to God or animals. INDIVIDUALISM

“His life was gentle; and the elements. So mixed in him, that nature
might stand up, And say to all the world, THIS WAS A MAN” William
Shakespeare
POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY IN
GREEK TIMES: PLATO
  "Man is by nature a political animal.“ Politics

ARISTOTLE.  “Every tate is a community of some kind, and

every community is established with a view to
some good; for mankind always act in order to
obtain that which they think good. But, if all
Form of government Finality Sovereign communities aim at some good, the state or
political community, which is the highest of all,
and which embraces all the rest, aims at good in a
Licit forms 1 Republic / politeia Common Majority greater degree than any other, and at the highest
of st Good good.
governme Some people think that the qualifications of a
nt. Pursuit statesman, king, householder, and master are the
of Justice same, and that they differ, not in kind, but only in
the number of their subjects. For example, the
2 Monarchy Common An ruler over a few is called a master; over more, the
n Good individual manager of a household; over a still larger
d number, a statesman or king, as if there were no
difference between a great household and a small
state. The distinction which is made between the
3 Aristocracy Common Minority
king and the statesman is as follows: When the
r Good (elite)
government is personal, the ruler is a king; when,
according to the rules of the political science, the
d citizens rule and are ruled in turn, then he is
called a statesman.
But all this is a mistake; for governments differ in
Illicit forms 4t Tyranny Monarch An
kind, as will be evident to any one who considers
of h interest individual
the matter according to the method which has
governme
hitherto guided us. As in other departments of
nt.
science, so in politics, the compound should
Despotism
always be resolved into the simple elements or
least parts of the whole. We must therefore look
and at the elements of which the state is composed, in
degradatio 5t Oligarchy Rich Minority
h interest (Rich)
order that we may see in what the different kinds
n forms of rule differ from one another, and whether any
scientific result can be attained about each one of
them” Politics, part I.

6t Democracy or Poor Majority

h Demagogy interest
POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY IN
MIDDLE AGES: AUGUSTINE OF
HIPPO

Christian Plato.

Divine enlightenment

City of God

Natural Knowledge

Knowing to believe and

believing to know….
POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY IN
MIDDLE AGES: TOMAS OF
AQUINAS.
Summa Theologica.

Christian Aristotle

Five paths to
demonstrate god
existence: empirical
theology.

Faith and Reason:

perfect
complementary, with
the Bible as natural
guide.
MACHIAVELLI AND THE
MEDICI.
 “Machiavelli was a proper man and a good citizen; but,
being attached to the court of the Medici, he could not
help veiling his love of liberty in the midst of his
country's oppression. The choice of his detestable hero,
Cesare Borgia, clearly enough shows his hidden aim; and
the contradiction between the teaching of the Prince and
that of the Discourses on Livy and the History of
Florence shows that this profound political thinker has so
far been studied only by superficial or corrupt readers.
The Court of Rome sternly prohibited his book. I can
well believe it; for it is that Court it most clearly
portrays”.—Rousseau, The Social Contract, Book III.
 The evening has come, I return home and go to my study; at the entrance I
pull off my peasant- clothes, covered with dust and dirt, and put on my
noble court dress, and thus becomingly re-clothed I pass into the ancient
courts of the men of old, where, being lovingly received by them, I am fed
with that food which is mine alone; where I do not hesitate to speak with
them, and to ask for the reason of their actions, and they in their benignity
answer me; and for four hours I feel no weariness, I forget every trouble,
poverty does not dismay, death does not terrify me; I am possessed entirely
by those great men.
And because Dante says, “Knowledge doth come of learning well retained,
Unfruitful else”
I have noted down what I have gained from their conversation, and have
composed a small work on 'Principalities,' where I pour myself out as fully
as I can in meditation on the subject, discussing what a principality is, what
kinds there are, how they can be acquired, how they can be kept, why they
are lost: and if any of my fancies ever pleased you, this ought not to
displease you: and to a prince, especially to a new one, it should be
welcome …
(A letter to Francesco Vettori, dated 13 December 1513, Machiavelli
describes his life at this period, which elucidates his methods and his
motives in writing The Prince)
POLITICAL REALISM
 “. . . no prince is ever benefited by making himself
hated”. Discourses Book III, Chapter XIX
 “Men ought either to be indulged or utterly destroyed,
for if you merely offend them they take vengeance, but if
you injure them greatly they are unable to retaliate, so
that the injury done to a man ought to be such that
vengeance cannot be feared. ” The Prince
 “Whosoever desires constant success must change his
conduct with the times.” The Prince
STATE’S REASON: CRITERION
 “A prince never lacks legitimate reasons to break his
promise”. The prince.
 FORTUNE: “Entrepreneurs are simply those who
understand that there is little difference between obstacle
and opportunity and are able to turn both to their
advantage.” The Prince
 “It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot be
both”.
 “When neither their property nor their honor is touched,
the majority of men live content”. Niccolo Machiavelli,
The Prince
GOOD LAWS
 “The main foundations of every state, new states as well
as ancient or composite ones, are good laws and good
arms you cannot have good laws without good arms, and
where there are good arms, good laws inevitably follow.
” The Prince
 “It is necessary for him who lays out a state and arranges
laws for it to presuppose that all men are evil and that
they are always going to act according to the wickedness
of their spirits whenever they have free scope. ” The
Prince
GOOD ARMIES
 “Before all else, be armed.” The Prince
 “For among other evils caused by being disarmed, it
renders you contemptible; which is one of those
disgraceful things which a prince must guard against. ”
The Prince
REPUBLIC
 “A return to first principles in a republic is sometimes
caused by the simple virtues of one man. His good
example has such an influence that the good men strive
to imitate him, and the wicked are ashamed to lead a life
so contrary to his example. ” The Prince
POLITICAL SCIENCE
 “Unlike many before him, Machiavelli provided examples to back
up his arguments about government and leadership. He influenced
other political scientists, including Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626),
who praised Machiavelli for being such an honest creature, and
Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), author of Leviathan (1651), who
agreed with Machiavelli that all people were weak, and needed a
strong ruler, else society run to complete decay. Machiavelli’s work
is still debated today by philosophers, students and theorists
everywhere. His name has even taken on special meaning;
“Machiavellian” is a term used to describe rulers who use deceit to
impose their will”.
http://weuropeanhistory.suite101.com/article.cfm/niccolo_machiavel
li#ixzz0JQRIDcUh&D
BIBLIOGRAPHY /WIKIGRAPHY

 Wikipedia (english)
 Britannica

 The Prince

 Discourses.