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Lao tzu compared to machiavelli
Compare and constrast machiavelli and lao tzu
Lao tzu compared to machiavelli
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Lao Tzu and Machiavelli have different perspective on how a leader should lead, one believes in a compassionate leader while the other believes in a cunning leader. These seemingly contrasting ideas can be combined to form an effective leader. Lao Tzu’s idea of a compassionate leader is compatible with Machiavelli’s idea of a cunning leader, because these ideas are complementary. For a leader to become respected and praised, one must be compassionate to one’s subjects. A leader must try to act for the benefit of the citizens, one must have empathy towards the people.
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.
What exactly is a good leader and how should they be? In the readings, by Christine de Pizan The Treasure of the City of Ladies and another by Niccolo Machiavelli The Prince. They both talk about how a prince and a princess should act upon their people. For Pizan she talks about how a princess should be kind hearted and accepting towards her people. She should act like this sho that they will help her whenever she is need.
On July 4, 1852, Frederick Douglass was invited to celebrate Independence Day in Rochester, New York and was to give a speech. His intended audience was the general public in which he believed needed to hear his opinion. Frederick Douglass was a former slave who had escaped his torment in his early twenties. In his speech, Douglass argues to the American people that they have a pretentious attitude toward slaves' freedom. Douglass states his thesis when he says "America is false to the past, false to the present, and solemnly binds herself to be false in the future."
Lao-Tzu was an ancient Chinese philosopher and writer. He is known as the author of the Tao Te Ching, the founder of philosophical Taoism, and a god in Taoism and traditional Chinese religions. Niccolò Machiavelli was a writer of the Renaissance period. They are both philosophers that have completely different perspective on how a country should run and how the leaders should act. While both philosophers’ writing can be very useful to the government in some ways.
Machiavelli argues the perfect prince will be both feared and loved by his people, and if unable to be both he will make himself feared and not hated. Machiavelli believes it is much safer to be feared than to be loved because people are less likely to offend and stand up against strong characters, also people are less concerned in offending a prince who has made himself loved. Accordingly, Machiavelli believes generosity is harmful to your reputation and the choice between being generous or stingy, merciful or cruel, honest or deceitful, should only be important if it aids the prince in political power. All in all, Machiavelli believes the ruler must be a great deceiver and do what is essential to uphold power over the
How can we tell the true essence of a man? Why is it that we focus on the outward image of a person so much that we blind our eyes from the true spirit of the individual within? Unintentionally, we separate people based off the judgements we preconceive and conclusively bypass the full essence of a person There once were two extremely intellectual men who enlightened the world with their own unique optimism and opinions. Niccolo Machiavelli and Martin Luther King Jr. set off sporadic flames of change within their individual eras that ignited revolution and constant metamorphosis amongst society. Although Machiavelli had a more deterred conception when it came to certain ideologies and moral principles, it as because of honesty that people began to broaden their viewpoints of life and welcome new ways of thinking,
Philosophical ideas impacted human history, particularly in government. Niccolo Machiavelli and John Locke ideation molded human history on how power should be divided equally amongst the people and the ruler. Their theories began the steps to construction of the U.S government. Machiavelli ideas migrated the power in monarchies away form the power of the church to the King/Queen. Particularly starting in Florence during the renaissance and political enlightenment.
The famous manual “The Prince” by Machiavelli is still to this day the main resource that explains and gives advice on how to be a good politician. In 26 chapters it holds powerful rules that Machiavelli believed were key points that one must follow to become a successful politician. Machiavelli was a politician, historian, philosopher, humanist, and writer and lived in Florence during the Renaissance and changed the world with his political philosophies. Like Machiavelli, Adolf Hitler was also a powerful politician and the chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945. He was also the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1939 to 1945.
The Prince, written by Machiavelli, is a candid outline of how he believes leaders gain and keep power. Machiavelli uses examples of past leaders to determine traits that are necessary to rule successfully. Leaders such as the King of Naples and the Duke of Milan lacked military power, made their subjects hate them, or did not know how to protect themselves from the elite, causing them to lose power. He says that these rulers should blame laziness, not luck, for their failures. By looking at these historical successes and failures, Machiavelli is able to develop his own thoughts on how politics and leaders should be in the future.
Plato and Machiavelli were nevertheless, as similar as they were different on their beliefs in an idealistic government. Both of their ideas have been taught for years, and are certainly essential to understand how they interpret a perfect polis. Plato emphasis the question on what is justice for the people as well as for the Kallipolis and whether a just person is better off than an unjust person. Ethical beliefs are Plato’s main focus in a government.
Confucius, Aristotle, and Lao-Tzu—all incredibly influential thinkers—did not always agree on how one ought to live; where Aristotle believed that thought or study led to virtue, Lao-Tzu placed focus on inaction, and Confucius taught that rituals paved the way to the best life. A few ideas, however, tie Confucius closer to Aristotle than to Lao-Tzu. Because Aristotle also placed importance on names, emphasized the need to find a mean of behavior, and believed that rulers should most critically be moral, Confucius would have preferred Aristotle to Lao-Tzu. Names—Aristotle utilizes them, even though he recognizes the difference between what exists in reality and the form represented by its name, while Lao-Tzu, on the other hand, maintains that names only serve to put limits on the named, and, in fact run the risk of creating opposites. According to Lao-Tzu, “Recognize beauty and ugliness is born.
Niccolò Machiavelli, better known as the father of modern political theory, wrote the famous socio-political treatise The Prince, during a dark time in his career. In The Prince, there are several policies that can be found in the American government, specifically in the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights. Many of our American leaders have adopted similar policies as Machiavelli's book is recognized as a political manual for many leaders. Obviously, there are many common themes in The Prince and The United States government's policies, such as the idea of arming one's citizens along with how leaders are brought to power; however, there are also many differences, in particular, the distribution of power in government.
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.
Machiavelli believed that men will follow a ruler as long as the ruler serves their interests, and a quick to turn against the ruler unless they fear great punishment. Machiavelli would say that it is best to be feared rather than loved as long as the fear does not cause hate, which he believed to be perfectly possible.
