Machiavelli's Moral System


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Background Machiavelli was born in Florence on May 3, 1469. He entered the political gambit as a clerk in 1494. From 1499 to 1512 he was sent on numerous diplomatic missions to foreign countries including the papacy, France and Spain. In 1513 he was accused of conspiracy against Florence and was exiled from the city. In exile he wrote his most important works "The Prince" and "The Discourses on the First Decade of Titus Livius".

Historical and Cultural Context Machiavelli was born at a time when there was not a united political authority gocerning Italy. Power was divided up among city states, including Rome under the papacy which lead to Machiavelli's distrust in Christian beliefs, and control of cities and indeed entire regions of Italy was constantly in flux and there was no sense of national unity among the groups that controlled these cities. Every group wanted to control Italy for itself and there was constant war over control of the region (I say region because Italy truly wasnt a country in any way, shape or form). Machiavelli's experience of this lack of stability and constant flux in power lead him to write "The Prince."

Major Writings Machiavelli's essay "The Prince" was written to Lorenzo Medici, who at the time governed Florence, in 1512. Machiavelli's key theme throughout the essay is that of a prince maintaining authority over the subjects that he ruled. He had been a witness to the political chaos that existed in Italy and wanted Medici to provide some stability to Italy. Machiavelli's other major work, "The Discourses on the First Decade of Titus Livius" (commonly known as "The Discourses" or "Discorsi") was a reflection on the advantages and requirements of a strong republic.

Key Moral Ideas Machiavelli's moral system had very little to do with the basic morals in everyday life like alcoholism or premarital sex. Machiavelli's moral system instead was much more complicated because it focused on the definition of what was essentially right and what was wrong.The common misconception about Machiavelli was that he was very radical and very anti-religious, and if one were to read "The Prince" these doctrines would stick out like a sore thumb. However, Machiavelli's writing is not anti-Catholic as much as it takes a pagan point of view at religion. Machiavelli did not believe in the cardinal belief of Christianity, that there was a supernatural end destined for man. Instead Machiavelli's beliefs were very earthly. He believed that the material world was the only real world and that fame, greatness, and power were the what the individual must strive for. Machiavelli's belief that power, fame, and greatness were the desire and destiny of every man to some degree were matched in his belief of right and wrong. Because Machiavelli believed these to be the values that man ought to strive for he defined virtue differently than one would normally see. Machiavelli argued that one should be seen in a public eye as virtuous but that in reality his own definition of virtue was what one should live as otherwise. Machiavelli's virtu is so different from the norm that it remains untranslated in the majority of translated texts for "The Prince." He defined virtu as "the qualities in a man to attain success, power, and fame." Because Machiavelli treated these values to be virtuous his belief in what was good and what was bad were almost the opposite of what Natural Law might suggest. This reason was the predominant reason why Machiavelli rejected Natural Law and the majority of Church teachings. Machiavelli believed that good was whatever could attain more power for a man in the material world. He did not believe there was consequence to action, but this belief did not support lawlessness or anarchy because he believed that the powerful's virtu would overcome that of the weaker person's. Machiavelli's definition of virtue was based on his belief in man's nature. He believed that man was noble and powerful and virtue was given to those who were proud of their human nature and life on Earth. Machiavelli's beliefs were based on the beauty of the nature of man and the power that he might be able to achieve on the Earth. He did not believe there were consequences for showing pride in this nature in everyday life or in a non-existent afterlife. Machiavelli believed that the ends would justify the means if one would execute one's plan with power, authority, and intelligence.

Sources

www.lucidcafe.com
www.wikipedia.org
www.historyguide.org
Maurice Cranston's Western Political Philosophers
Michael B. Foster's Masters of Political Thought

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