Free Will In Nicolo Machiavelli's The Prince

Change can occur in anyone, whether it be a change of clothes, a change of attitude, or a change of character. In the play, The Crucible, we watch Abigail Williams begin as an innocent young girl, but the events that unfold show soon enough that she is actually an evil manipulating witch. The Abigail that you thought you knew at the beginning, the young, naive little girl, gets put to rest, and leaves you with a cold hearted, selfish, and good for nothing witch. Abigail Williams does not have a drastic or even measurable shift of character throughout the play, but rather it’s the perception of her from a reader's point of view that changes. Her truly colors shine, and they reveal her crookedness.

The implications of such a view of history for politics is Machiavelli’s claim that, because history is the study of the actions of great men with fixed natures, history itself is subject to a discernible method that may be used to understand the present and predict the future. The man who understands the repetitive nature of history does not attribute the unexpected events of the present to fortune or God, but to his failure to find an accurate parallel to the present event in the past. In his outline of the proper education of a prince, Machiavelli suggests that “as to the exercise of the mind, a prince should read histories and consider in them the actions of excellent men, should see how they conducted themselves in wars, should examine the causes of their victories and losses, so as to be able to avoid the latter and imitate the former” (Prince, 60) . Philopoemen, by evaluating every possible military maneuver, achieved a state of expertise at which “there could never arise, while he led the army, any accident for which he did not have the remedy” (Prince, 60). In other words, the knowledge of all possibilities could head off the devastating effects of fortune. Thus, fortune is defined not as the source of inexplicable events, but as the failure to predict events. Fortune—whether good or ill—is simply bad

Machiavelli’s interpretation of human nature was greatly shaped by his belief in God. In his writings, Machiavelli conceives that humans were given free will by God, and the choices made with such freedom established the innate flaws in humans. Based on that, he attributes the successes and failure of princes to their intrinsic weaknesses, and directs his writing towards those faults. His works are rooted in how personal attributes tend to affect the decisions one makes and focuses on the singular commanding force of power. Fixating on how the prince needs to draw people’s support, Machiavelli emphasizes the importance of doing what is best for the greater good. He proposed that working toward a selfish goal, instead of striving towards a better state, should warrant punishment. Machiavelli is a practical person and always thought of pragmatic ways to approach situations, applying to his notions regarding politics and

Niccolò Machiavelli was an activist of analyzing power. He believed firmly in his theories and he wanted to persuade everyone else of them as well. To comment on the common relationship that was seen between moral goodness and legitimate authority of those who held power, Machiavelli said that authority and power were essentially coequal.9 He believed that whomever had power obtained the right to command; but goodness does not ensure power. This implied that the only genuine apprehension of the administrative power was the attainment and preservation of powers which indirectly guided the maintenance of the state. That, to him, should have been the objective of all leaders. Machiavelli believed that one should do whatever it took, during the given circumstance, to keep his people in favor of him and to maintain the state. Thus, all leaders should have both a sly fox and ravenous wolf inside of him prepared to release when necessary.10

Before diving into free will, it is important to note that only a half of it can be controlled through human affairs, the other is fortuna. Machiavelli’s use of fortuna is to describe all of the situations and things that a person cannot control. (The Prince, 67) He says that fortuna (luck) directly results a prince's success or failure. He indicates in the text that one should bend fortuna to their own will. This leads us into the topic of free will. Machiavelli’s views regarding free will, to be put simply, is that he believes humans do have it. He says that if they didn’t, then energy and a persons abilities would mean nothing. In a way, he rebukes the Medici by saying that God wants people to act and to have successes, instead of sitting around and waiting on something that may never come. Even though Machiavelli believes in free will, he definitely seems harsh when describing the common people. Machiavelli calls the average person “fickle, easy to persuade, and nearly incapable of conviction.” (The Prince, 17). He goes on to say that the common people are more focused on not being oppressed then actually using free will to achieve anything. So even though people do have free will, they often are content with their current situation than to pull themselves up into a

While some other great political thinkers sat around and dreamed about their perfect little utopias in the clouds, notably Socrates and Plato, Machiavelli was analyzing the most powerful men of his day. He observed and recorded how men flocked the sheep to exactly where they were wanted by their shepherd. He watched as the wolves preyed on the sheep and noticed that there was no philosopher king around to prevent it. He accepted that we as humans are corrupt and that we can’t all be Marcus Aurelius, king of

Machiavelli has another argument “concerning those who become princes by evil means.”# He believes that cruelty can also be used to benefit the prince but only in modesty. If a prince frequently relies on cruel acts then he will not live in power for long. Proper use of cruelty is only achieved when it is done “out of the need for safety” and when it is done swiftly as to make sure that the act is quickly forgotten, and the people can return to a feeling of safety.# His idea that cruelty should be swift is excellent, this way the citizens will feel more at ease with there prince, because if he were to drag out the atrocities then the people may feel the need to revolt to protect their personal freedoms and civil rights. Many people may think these are evil ideas, but it is completely practical, during Machiavelli’s era (and even today) a prince will always face a moment in this rule that he will have to act in a cruel manner, in no way is this statement cruel it is just a practical way of dealing with a inevitable situation. He also believes that “benefits ought to be given little by little, so that the flavour of them may last longer.”# As much as people may be discusted by this

While Machiavelli was a Catholic nobleman and Prince a singer and a Jehovah’s Witness(member of a Christian-based religious movement), they were alike in that they explored realms beyond their respective religions. Machiavelli pioneered the study of political science, something quite unheard-of in a time when monarchical power was believed to be a divine right. Prince, while a devout Christian, also spent time studying Afrocentric interpretations of history and some Eastern spiritual ideas.(Hiatt) In addition, Prince’s attitude towards fate bears striking similarity with Machiavelli’s theory of fate. The Prince explains that “fortune is the ruler of half our actions, but that she allows the other half or thereabouts to be governed by us.”(104) According to Machiavelli, there are some things in life that are within man’s control and some things beyond; which is well in accord with Prince’s beliefs. When asked whether he would marry again, Prince said, “that’s another thing that’s up to God. It’s all magnetism anyway- something would pull me into its gravity, and I wouldn’t be able to get out from

Machiavelli is unapologetic about the asserted inevitability of a ruler committing immoral, or even evil, deeds to obtain power, but advises that the suffering should be minimized and the injured party should eventually profit. He writes, “Well-used cruelty (if one can speak well of evil) one may call these atrocities that are committed at a stroke, in order to secure one’s

Fortune is a woman says Machiavelli. Such a claim has been used to reveal Fortune’s nature. It has allowed us to study her ways, to learn how to interact to her. Fortune is a powerful woman, and requires virtu to resist her. Machiavelli uses this picture to help people understand more simply the nature of Fortune so they might be able to react more appropriately when Fortune comes to its opposition. Machiavelli teaches “…that it is better to be impetuous than cautious, because Fortune is a woman, and if you want to keep her under it is necessary to beat her and

In The Morals of the Prince Machiavelli expresses his presumption on how a prince should act. He expresses that a prince should be feared, merciful, stingy, etc. He is right because if a prince is loved and too generous then people will take advantage of him and that will lead to his down fall. A prince must act appropriately to remain in power. Machiavelli gives his best ideas to keep a prince in power.

Edgar A. Poe’s writing is very interesting as we go into the mind of a very creative man and maybe a little insane. Edgar A. Poe was an American Writer from Boston, Massachusetts. Born on January 19, 1809. Mr. Poe died on October 7, 1849. Edwin Markham informs us that, “Poe graduated at the University of Virginia at Charlotte” (viii). During the early life in Poe’s life he enrolled into the military. Financially unstable, he made that decision. Markham stated “On January 1 Poe was appointed Sergeant Major a promotion implying previous meritorious service.” (ix). Poe tried to be one of the first writers to attempt to live by his work, but as Meyers stated “Poe, throughout his attempts to live as a writer, repeatedly had to resort to humiliating pleas for money and other assistance.” (1992). Mr. Poe is considered an escape writer, but there are some lessons learned in the stories.

Prowess refers to an individual’s talents, while fortune implies chance or luck. A prince who manages to gain power by relying on his own prowess will succeed at maintaining power because his prowess will have built him a firm foundation for ruling. Princes who succeed due to the sway of fortune or the goodwill of others lack a basis from which to rule and will have difficulty building it quickly enough to prevent power from slipping out of their hands. Thus, although princes who rely on fortune reach their position easily, maintaining that position is extremely difficult. Therefore it is commendable that a prince succeeds on their own prowess, which will help build stronger fundamentals for themselves. He will have the loyalty of his army, which is analogous to the allegiance of the boss’ employees and the respect of leaders of surrounding principalities, which is also comparable to the esteem of other companies. Overall, the more self-reliant this authority figure is, the more he will prove capable of success as he will be better equipped to deal with problems and

When reading Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince, one can’t help but grasp Machiavelli’s argument that morality and politics can not exist in the same forum. However, when examining Machiavelli’s various concepts in depth, one can conclude that perhaps his suggested violence and evil is fueled by a moral end of sorts. First and foremost, one must have the understanding that this book is aimed solely at the Prince or Emperor with the express purpose of aiding him in maintaining power. Therefore, it is essential to grasp his concepts of fortune and virtue. These two contrary concepts reflect the manner in which a Prince should govern while minimizing all chance and uncertainty. This kind of governing demands violence to be taken, however this

This current study analyzes student behavior and their attitudes and motivation behind going to law school. Research for this study was conducted in a classroom setting and through interviews, within both a public law school and a private law school. This research aimed to answer the question of what are the differences in student behavior between public university law schools and private university law schools? In response to this question, over 8 hours of observation were conducted, including the scheduled class time and the time spent observing before and after the class sessions. During the observation sessions, student behavior in terms of professionalism, classroom etiquette, participation, and classroom atmosphere was