Papers on "The Nature of Man According to Machiavelli" and similar term paper topics

Paper #025386 :: The Nature of Man According to Machiavelli
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Looking at the philosophies of Niccolo Machiavelli as he presents them in his work "The Prince".

Written in 2002; 882 words; 1 source; MLA; $ 31.95

Paper Summary:

This paper examines the Machiavelli's idea of the nature of man in his philosophical work "The Prince", and by doing so, examines the character not only of the ideal prince, but also of the citizens over whom he rules. This paper shows how Machiavelli considered that the basic nature of man was to seek fulfillment of his desires and needs, the most important of these being power. Power, according to Machiavelli, is the driving force of men and has a clear distinction from morality.

From the Paper:

"Concerning cruelty, which leads to a man's unworthiness of trust, Machiavelli says, "Well committed may be called those [cruelties] . . . which are perpetrated once for the need of securing one's self " (68). In addition to personal gain, achievement of gain for the state is the primary goal of the true ruler. It follows, therefore, that ?a prince must not mind incurring the charge of cruelty for the purpose of keeping his subjects united and faithful . . . ." (101). Machiavelli asserts that if a person conquers, nobody questions?or even remembers?the victor's motives, tactics, and methods. However, cruelty is not always so beneficial to and overlooked by the citizens in the long run, even if they are incapable of retaliation, as Machiavelli also says that men "will revenge themselves for small injuries, but cannot do so for great ones: the injury therefore that we do to a man must be such that we need not fear his vengeance" (36). Now, is this man, who is to be the victim of great injuries which will not be avenged, any man, or is he one of those "men in general" who are "ungrateful, voluble, dissemblers, anxious to avoid danger, and covetous of gain" (l02)? (What a contrast this thought is to that of Socrates in Plato's Republic, who argues that a just man would not harm anyone at all!) Such execution?though somewhat inconsistent?of cruelties, whether well-intended or not, inevitably results in the prince's not being trustworthy. Thus, power should be exercised with great care, no matter what the circumstances, because the prince must avoid being despised in order to rule strongly and effectively with no possibility of revolution."

Tags: desire need essential citizen rule morality

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