ipl-logo

Boethius Vs Machiavelli

2271 Words10 Pages

The Ancient-modern debate involves two main tenets and philosophers Boethius and Niccolo Machiavelli and both have extremely different and even contradictory views of politics and whether morality comes into play and how. Boethius covers the classical side of the debate where he gets some of his ideas from other philosophers in the classical rea like Plato and Socrates. Niccolo Machiavelli covers the modern aspect of the debate. Both speak on similar themes like the conception of happiness, the role of “Lady Fortuna” or Fortune and politics. The ancient or classical view of in the Ancient modern debate of human nature is that humans are naturally good and naturally political. Specifically, this notion derives from Plato and his conception …show more content…

Further, that because fortune owns everything except for reason we should not be dependent on then things that fortune loans us. Boethius believes that happiness is contentment that come from reason and peace of mind. Contentment is the only true happiness we can have because it involves reason and we own it. Reason is the source of getting through bad things. Contentment is self sufficiency that goes along with reason making one self governing. Purpose of politics for Machiavelli in the purest way is preservation. Furthermore, Machiavelli thinks that politics and morality do not go together. You don’t need to be a good person to be a good leader and that being a good person actually increases your chance of failing as a leader. He believes that attempting to become a better person and trying to make the people in the city better can neglect the true reason preservation. Also, believes that morality can distract you and that it doesn’t prepare you for the chaos in nature and …show more content…

The nature of fortune is illustrated in this quote “In the very act of changing she has preserved her own particular kind of constancy towards you. She was exactly the same when she was flattering you and luring you on with enticements of false kind of happiness. You have discovered the changing faces of the goddess” (23). Reason is your armor to move forward when unhappy and from the changes of fortune. Boethius helps point out with the notion of “Lady Fortuna” that we live in a world full of mortals and mortal things therefore getting attached is a bad thing. False happiness is when you are self sufficient on things that don’t belong to you. Boethius is upset at fortune for his fortune changed from good to bad quickly and she reminds him: “Now that I have I have decided to withdraw my hand. You have have been receiving a favour as one who has had the use of another’s possessions, and you have no right to complain as if what you have lost was fully your own. You have no cause to begin groaning at me: I have done you no violence. Wealth, honours and the like are all under my jurisdiction” (25). It is also being dependent on things like morality and wealth that end up making you more of a slave. False happiness is extremely dangerous. False happiness is false in summary because it makes you think you are self sufficient, are based on

Show More
Related
716 Words | 3 Pages

The main point made by Machiavelli was that men are inherently bad, so a leader must rule in a way that takes this into account. He taught that because of man’s ungratefulness, it is safer to be feared than loved (D-4). This shows that Machiavelli believed that the power and success of a country will lead to the prosperity of its inhabitants. Both influential people believed that a country prospers the most under absolute power.

Read More
740 Words | 3 Pages

No one has earned their happiness, therefore, their happiness is nothing but a numbingly ignorant bliss. With no alternating

Read More
1750 Words | 7 Pages

The History of Rasselas: Prince of Abissinia describes this perfectly. In this book a prince discovers that just because he has everything in the world, it does not make him happy. He states, “I have already enjoyed too much; give me something to desire” (Johnson, 6). In this scene he is speaking to an old man who is confused why the prince is complaining about being unhappy when he has everything. In this sense, the old man is like Gulliver who believes that he would be his happiest having riches and knowledge.

Read More
837 Words | 4 Pages

Accordingly, we see that politicians avoid uses of virtue or in other words principles for his own interest which include his own security. Finally, Machiavelli describes a point of view that those in power take on the nature of humans. To rather be safe and protect their interest Machiavelli shows that politicians corrupt principles we base public policy on by stating “ For it is a good general rule about men, that they are ungrateful, fickle, liars and deceivers, fearful of danger and greedy for gain”(866). In sum, Machiavelli depicts politicians taking different points of view on principles therefore public policy in

Read More
505 Words | 3 Pages

When you hear the name Machiavelli what do you think of? Malevolence, dictatorship, or Tupac Shakur? What you should think about is cunning or unscrupulousness, “The ends justify the means.” The father of modern political theory, Niccolo Machiavelli was a 15th century political theorist and advisor who insisted we shouldn’t think that politicians are bad or unelectable for manipulating people. In Machiavelli’s distinct view a worthy politician isn’t honest and moral.

Read More
1367 Words | 6 Pages

The pursuit of happiness is defined as “the fundamental right mentioned in the Declaration of Independence to freely pursue joy and live life in a way that makes you happy.” The ability to find happiness is a right guaranteed to all citizens in the United States, yet many countries do not possess the same rights as America and instead are plagued by corruption. Procuring contentment is a difficult journey for all people, but those who do not have access to knowledge will find it to be a much more daunting task. In Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, Montag’s struggle to find joy under an oppressive regime required him to challenge his knowledge in a way he never truly had before. Happiness is analyzed constantly in the real world as well, and the philosophers and scientists who study it consistently link it to knowledge, as shown in the articles by Main, Socrates and in the article about Individualism.

Read More
694 Words | 3 Pages

True happiness is not having what everybody else has, or being the most popular person socially on the block, but enjoying what one does. If having what everybody wants is a satisfaction, then that person would be happy in this society, but in reality, that does not satisfy people. To truly be happy, an individual must find what he or she enjoys, then capitalize on that specific thing or things. Simply doing what social media says happiness is will not bring oneself to their own true happiness. However, not all characters misunderstood the true meaning of

Read More
1310 Words | 6 Pages

There are many different views regarding how a prince should rule, but in The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli, he advises Lorenzo de' Medici to rule with absolute power and to take extreme measures when necessary to maintain his power. Machiavelli wrote The Prince in 1513 with the intent of convincing Lorenzo de’ Medici to give him an advising position within the Florentine government. Niccolo Machiavelli was an Italian writer and politician who lived from 1469 to 1527. In the dedication of his book, which was written in 1513, he explains that his writing is the most valuable thing that he has to offer. Through his detailed accounts of history and his ruthless approach to ruling Machiavelli explains why he tends to favor the ancients and has

Read More
1630 Words | 7 Pages

The ancient philosophers, or those who practiced philosophy before the Age of Enlightenment, generally believed politics should aim high in regard to virtue and happiness; in other words: The ancients were inegalitarian or did not believe individual people were equal to one another (Cahn, 121). Inegalitarians accept and support social, political and economic inequality; they believe some people are physically, morally or mentally inferior or superior. Thus, the ancients desired a closed, aristocratic society, which was controlled via censorship. They believed only an elite aristocratic class was capable of achieving pre-modern virtues such as courage or temperance; ultimately pre-modern virtuous qualities were intentionally rare to find, and

Read More
847 Words | 4 Pages

To be happy is to be free. Epictetus gives us his differentiation between things that don 't rely upon us (i.e. our body, distinction, power, etc.) and things that rely upon us (i.e. our thoughts, goals, dislikes, etc.) in the first part of the Enchiridion. To be free is to focus on the things that rely on us and don 't give importance to those that don 't rely on us. What essentially relies upon us are not the events of our lives or outside things, yet the judgments that concentrate on these.

Read More
429 Words | 2 Pages

He believes anyone can rule a polis if they have virtu. Once a ruler, a simple rule to follow to maintain power and not to be hated by the people, is to “not take away a man’s possession or woman”, Machiavelli believes the people will not feel threaten by following this rule, thus maintaining a stable polis. He expresses how “human nature never changes”, and that people are self-interested and they can turn against you once you are not profiting them. A good ruler must have the strength to do whatever it takes to obtain and maintain power, which essentially means that even if they have to hurt some of the people for the benefit of the popular mass, then they shall do so for the greater cause. Both Plato and Machiavelli believe that there must be a government in order for human kind to survive.

Read More
954 Words | 4 Pages

One aspect of Machiavelli’s theory which significantly contributes to his reputation as the “philosopher of evil,” is his advice to the prince on keeping their word to the public. In chapter eighteen, Machiavelli states, “a wise ruler cannot, and should not, keep his word when doing so is to his disadvantage, and when the reasons that led him to promise to do so no longer apply” (pg. 37). To simplify, Machiavelli says princes are obligated to lie in certain circumstances. He also states that while it is unnecessary for the prince to have positive qualities, such as honesty, trustworthiness, sympathy, compassion, or be religious, it is essential for the prince to be viewed so by the public (pg. 37). While many people argue that Machiavelli’s legitimization of lying and deception in politics is immoral, I argue the opposite.

Read More
427 Words | 2 Pages

There lies the assumption that happiness and truth are incompatible. In this new world, pleasure originates instead from food, fashion, health, sex, and Soma. Our human intelligence and conscience understand that these material possessions can 't genuinely make a

Read More
376 Words | 2 Pages

The word “Machiavelli" has bad connotations of evil and betrayal. According to Merriam Webster, “Machiavellian” means using clever lies and tricks in order to get or achieve something. To those unfamiliar with his works, they picture a scheming and murderous villain with no sense of justice for the common good. However, to those who do understand his works, there is much more to Niccolò Machiavelli than being evil. Machiavelli categorizes politics as neither good nor bad but as amoral.

Read More
680 Words | 3 Pages

People miss the fact that happiness comes from within. In an attempt to find joy – we must also be cautious about over excessive desire to acquire material objects and wealth. There is a delicate balance that must be reached between the pursuit of happiness, satisfaction, and contentment. While there are many conditions that fulfill ones emotional wellbeing, happiness and how we acquired it, depends upon the

Read More

More about Boethius Vs Machiavelli

Related Topics

Open Document