Term Paper on "Machiavelli as a Humanist Examples and the Lessons He Learns"

Term Paper 7 pages (1873 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Machiavelli as a Humanist:

Examples and the Lessons He Learns

This report aims to present a clear presentation of Niccolo Machiavelli as a humanist. The underlying objective is to present some specific examples or lessons he may have learned throughout his life experiences which either directly or indirectly helped him become the wise philosopher that is still renowned today. Very few historical works have withstood the tests of time as well as Niccolo Machiavelli's 'The Prince and it is the basis for many assumptions for who he was.

In fact, this work is still considered to be the timeless strategic guide for ultimate personal success. Machiavelli's particular strategic guide is well-known for its appeal to military and political leaders as well as private industry organizers. Thus, the philosophies of Machiavelli may indirectly affect almost every man woman and child in the world today in one way or another in this highly competitive global business and economic spectrum of the twenty-first century. That is because the true leaders of our society today are well versed in his doctrines and can therefore be considered to literally be practitioners of his ideals. Consider the fact that many of the principles that he taught were still applied today during phenomenon such as the Cold War where many suggested assassinations and espionage were approved for spies and soldiers by governmental leaders. and, in the business world, aspects of his works may not be held literally but are still applied in less dramatic fashions. For example, when Machiavelli makes a suggestion to 'eliminate whole opposing families in order to reduce the threat of revenge' in modern business terminology this may be loosely translated into killing a person or an opposing group's careers which today may in a sense be just as effective as any murder.

Niccolo Machiavelli

Historians have excelled in the life of Niccolo Machiavelli so a great deal is known about his life and about his popular work 'The Prince.' For example, historians are now sure that his book was more or less an attempt by Machiavelli to ingratiate him self with members of the royal family because he had been fired after nearly fifteen years in the position of Secretary to the Second Chancery of the Signoria.

The Prince therefore, after being received by the royal family, was instantly considered to be a great work of political strategy. Because it was very well received, it altered many royal and political situations immediately and changed the many lives into states of punditry because they were eager to grasp the inherent knowledge. "Such dominions thus acquired are either accustomed to live under a prince, or to live in freedom; and are acquired either by the arms of the prince himself, or of others, or else by fortune or by ability." (Machiavelli)

Consider also that 'The Prince' directly altered many political movements because the royal family felt obligated to share it with various other royal leaders throughout Italy and Europe. Machiavelli made the dynamic assertion that all politics and the political arena as a whole should be literally separated from other theological or 'moral imperatives' of leadership.

We take this notion for granted today; however, it was a radically new idea during those times. "It must be understood that a prince... cannot observe all of those virtues for which men are reputed good, because it is often necessary to act against mercy, against faith, against humanity, against frankness, against religion, in order to preserve the state." (Machiavelli) Questions such as could nations like the United States ever have had presidents if it were not for Machiavelli and his new concepts for politics? How many similarities are there between sixteenth century principalities and twentieth century presidents?

The Prince' can be tied to many aspects of modern day business philosophies and offers clear messages to put into practice moral relativism and political expediency. Donald Trump and other modern day CEO's all understand this concept and its role for one to become a leader in business today. and, the book goes further in the sense that it also provided the underlying skill set needed to implement the expediency and the process of staying in power one it is achieved. The foundation of the ideals behind the work can be said to have offered a knowledgeable prince or leader the tools to better maintain and stabilize his own nation as well as how to conquer and maintain other's.

Thus, in 'The Prince' Machiavelli was certainly not gun shy on demonstrating that all good leaders were required to apply certain tactics, albeit cruel tactics, to enforce their will on the masses, opponents and subordinates at a time before such notions were truly understood.

Humanist

With that being said, who would Machiavelli fair as a humanist? Obviously it would be best to clearly define a humanist and then see if those terms and definitions apply. The problem is that the term Humanism actually has many meanings. For example, in literature, humanism entails that a person is devoted to the humanities or specifically to the literary culture. In a religious sense, Christian Humanism means to be a more human-oriented Christian as opposed to the more modernly common spiritually driven pious person. In other words, one's faith would hold the expectation that man's philosophic self- fulfillment is an excepted aspect of the Christian principles.

All being equal, Humanism is founded on man's input. "...Humans are responsible for the state of the world; we created the beauty and the ugliness of the human condition. We can take credit for the things that go right and we must take responsibility for the things that go wrong." (the Essence of Humanism)

And, because Machiavelli clearly drove the stake between politics and religion during times of religious fervor, I believe that he would have been a true Religious Humanist. Clearly, if we are attempting to define Humanism then, we would need to focus on specific terminologies such as Religious Humanism.

Literary Humanism

Renaissance Humanism

Cultural Humanism

Philosophical Humanism

Christian Humanism

Modern Humanism

Secular Humanism

Religious Humanism

Machiavelli as a Humanist

Humanism's origin has been traced back to the Renaissance and has actually been credited with being an aspect or ingredient of the Renaissance. Religious Humanism grew out of a combination of Ethical Culture, Unitarianism as well as Universalism. To bring the historical ties into the twenty-first century, many modern Unitarian and Universalist congregations and every Ethical Cultural society does still consider itself to be religious humanists and they see religion as an entity that serves specific personal and social needs for any group that shares a philosophical view.

In other words, Humanism is considered to be a naturalistic view that would reject the supernatural or ideas that cannot be proven by reason and/or science. Machiavelli in this sense would have been ideal. He certainly did not follow the accepted ideals of his time that a Prince or other royal members were chosen by God to lead the masses. In fact, he suggested in other writings that this notion was a very successful ploy by those in charge to control those who followed. The separation of church and political state is a very religious humanist position.

Machiavelli would certainly concur with the notion that religion creates distortions and ironies. But Humanists as a group also have underlying problems within their own ranks because they do not agree on certain facts. For example, Modern Humanism splits into two sub-categories, secular and religious. The dispute is between these factions. Ironically, Secular and Religious Humanists seem to share similar worldviews and therefore follow similar principles which was confirmed when each factions created and signed the Humanist Manifesto I in 1933 and the revision in 1973.

Religious Humanists who are secular have an understanding that human beings do have personal and social needs. These needs can only be met through various religions, although these religions would not necessarily entail the modern Christina beliefs involving God. "Religion is rooted in authoritarianism. All religions accept the concept of an infallible God, the word of God as the final authority, the ultimate truth. Anything attributed to God is absolute truth: the Bible, the Koran, the Talmud." (the Essence of Humanism) Machiavelli would agree with this notion whole heartedly based on the assumptions that can be made from his view within the Prince.

The question would be which faction would Machiavelli fit into better? This is because Machiavelli would agree that the concept of a God usually forces a congregation from making decisions between meeting God's needs and meeting man's needs. Machiavelli as a Humanist would also suggests that it is immoral for man to not act because he is waiting for a God to act for him. 'The Prince' was very clear about how to share bread kingdoms and how to lead the masses and at no point was there a period for Godly reflection. So, he would have been a good addition to the Secular view.

But Machiavelli would also have agreed with many points… READ MORE

How to Reference "Machiavelli as a Humanist Examples and the Lessons He Learns" Term Paper in a Bibliography

Related Term Papers:

What Lessons Were Learned From the Tempe PD Network Implementation Term Paper

Lessons were learned from the Tempe PD network implementation?

Some years ago, the U.S. Department of Justice made grants to a number of local jurisdictions to improve the quality of… read more

Term Paper 5 pages (1309 words) Sources: 0 Topic: Crime / Police / Criminal Justice

---

Machiavelli's the Prince What Elements Essay

Machiavelli's The Prince

What elements in Machiavelli's the Prince are consistent with the values of Renaissance Humanism, and what elements are in conflict with those values? Is Machiavelli a humanist?… read more

Essay 3 pages (1185 words) Sources: 2 Topic: Military / Army / Navy / Marines

---

Compare and Contract a Use of Concept Essay

Machiavelli's the Prince, a number of points are made that require the thinking person to contemplate on a somewhat deeper level than what could be considered 'pleasure reading'. For instance,… read more

Essay 4 pages (1167 words) Sources: 2 Topic: Philosophy / Logic / Reason

---

Machiavelli and Moses Machiavelli Has Been Praised Essay

Machiavelli and Moses

Machiavelli has been praised and denigrated for his stance regarding the qualities of a proper leader. Although his seminal work is researched by those engaged in leadership,… read more

Essay 6 pages (1918 words) Sources: 1 Topic: Religion / God / Theology

---

Machiavelli's the Prince Term Paper

Machiavelli's "The Prince"

It is quite obvious that the time of kings and kingdoms has long passed. Nonetheless, Niccolo Machiavelli's "The Prince" remains one of the most important political writings… read more

Term Paper 6 pages (2065 words) Sources: 5 Style: MLA Topic: World History

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>