Machiavelli wrote The Prince as a guide for how princes should maintain power, where morals DONT matter. How would Aristotle or Plato respond?
>>1340390
Don't be a jerk because you succumb to base desires like the lust for power.
You should want to do good, not see good and evil as a means to an end.
Good is an end in itself.
>>1340390
we all know Intro to Western Political Thought is a tough class, friend, but we're not writing your paper for you.
>>1340390
>Machiavelli wrote The Prince as a guide for how princes should maintain power, where morals DONT matter.
"no"
>>1340512
>"no"
Citation needed
>>1340390
He was being sarcastic
>>1341746
Its was just banter and the catholic church got butthurt.
>>1340390
Machiavelli doesn't advocate violence for its own sake. On the contrary, he repeatedly insists that such frenzied aggression is counter-productive. But he is implying that the morally right thing is irrelevant. What matters is staying in power.
So the whole thing is really an extended reflection on Plato's The Republic
The Great Beast is introduced in Book VI of The Republic. It represents the prejudices and passions of the masses. To please the Great Beast you call what it delights in Good, and what it dislikes Evil. In America this is called politics.
