Why was he Important?
He was
an Italian philosopher whose ideas play an important role in political theory,
morality, and religion. Philosophers for years used statements and writings of
Machiavelli some theories of which caused controversy.
Why did you choose this person? How
does his life relate to me?
I chose
Niccolo because I think it is very interesting some of the ideas he presents;
especially those pertaining to religion. Being religious myself it is cool to
get a different perspective on faith.
If he had never existed would the
world be different than it is today? Why?
I do not
think that there would be any drastic changes in the world due to the fact that
most of what he said or wrote were theories or speculations rather than facts
or beliefs. However, some of what Machiavelli theorized about is still under
debate and if he hadn’t existed those ideas would not have come to the
forefront.
If I could ask him anything what
would I ask?
I would
ask him what he thinks of society today and where does he think the human race
is headed.
Does the fact that he is Italian play
a role in his success?
His
Italian origins may have played a role in his views on religion because I
understand that Italy is very big in religion. That being said it is not a
guarantee that him being Italian contributes wholly to his success. Many of the
predictions or theories made are still very much likely to be thought of in
other cultures as well as Italian.
"most of what he said or wrote were theories or speculations rather than facts or beliefs" ... True. Instead of speculations, I would say they were suggestions. Macchiavelli was working as secretary for the Medici family and wrote the book specifically for Lorenzo de Medici, who at the time was the archetype of the perfect leader. I also think "Il Principe" has been considered something more than "theories" during the last centuries. It's not a case, in an interview with the New York Times, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Jared Diamond was asked which book he would require President Obama to read if he could and he answered "Il Principe".
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bu.edu/today/2013/machiavelli-the-prince-still-relevant-after-all-these-years/