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Machiavelli the prince power
Machiavelli the prince power
Machiavelli's beliefs about what makes a good leader
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In Machiavelli’s, The Prince, he listed seven of the characteristics that he thought a leader had to have to be a good leader. However, some of these tenants had conflicts concerning the lack of thought towards actual human nature. One of the tenants specifically said,”Virtue can ruin a person, and vice can bring success.” This statement seems logical when you first look at it, but, as you delve into the actual meaning of the tenant, you realize it is more complex and misleading than before.
According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, the definition of virtue is,”morally good behavior and character”. So how can good behavior and character ruin a person? Some people might argue that if you are too benevolent, you could give the majority of your money away to other people. But when you look at the definition, it says that it is morally good behavior. So by saying this, the person who gave his money away is pleased with what he has done. He/She did this for a reason, making himself/herself a better person. How does that ruin a person? Is self-happiness harmful? Is feeling like you d...
When discussing any triumphant or flourishing organization or institution, the main attribute which will always surface when examining the true fabric of what allows a particular organization or institution to excel, will always be leadership.
To begin with, Aristotle tells us his meaning of virtues and vices. They are not just any habits that we experience, but the outcome of what we feel as pleasure or pain. A virtuous person feels pleasure at the most beautiful action. A person who is not virtuous will feel their pleasure misleading. the definition of virtue is a behavior showing high moral standards or good characteristics. Virtues comes as a consequence of following the right habits. There are two different types of virtues: Intellectual and moral. To have virtues you have to have intellectual morals. This means you ethically do things on your own, you comprehend what doing, and realizing why you doing it. Aristotle says we can describe virtu...
... individuals interpret human experience in different ways and thus interpret virtues in different ways. This means that virtue ethics cannot be an objective and universal theory. This, consequently, causes Aristotelian virtue ethics to be an unpractical and unsuccessful moral theory in reality. This is because there cannot be an agreed consensus of what is the actual mean, the virtue, between the vices of deficiency and excess.
We all know that ROTC is about leadership. But what is leadership? What does leadership mean? And how can you become a leader? John Quincy Adams once said, "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." Honestly when I decided to transfer to UTC and register for ROTC, I was thinking “what am I getting myself into?” I always had passion for the military, but I couldn’t believe I was wavering a Track and Field scholarship to join an organization I hardly knew anything about, apart from commercials, documentaries and films. However, the more I think about it, the more I realize that during the past two years I’ve learned so much about myself and the qualities it takes to become a great leader and a great person.
Louden opens this section with this statement: “… it is commonplace that virtue theorists focus on good and bad agents rather than on right and wrong acts.” This is a good th...
In the many sections Niccolo Machiavelli writes he constantly compares to extreme qualities, one of which is ideal, the other real. These extremes include love(ideal) vs fear, clemency(ideal) vs cruelty, generous(ideal) vs stingy, and integrity(ideal) vs lying. In comparing these different traits Machiavelli highlights the merits of opposing characteristics and (specifically)when it is effective to act in certain ways. He argues that a balance of both are vital as to prevent a prince from dipping too far into a pool of inescapable extremism. The following excerpts display the author’s contrast-centered style: “ Thus, it's much wiser to put up with the reputation of being a miser, which brings you shame without hate, than to be forced—just
The above is a condensed introduction to what virtue ethics really entails, but like all the philosophical theories we come across there are many advantages as well as equally as many valid disadvantages. I would like to focus on a few of these in the following article. I, as a person with virtues find it only appropriate to start this article off on a negative note as and then finally to sum it up in a positive manner as I believe, for many different personal reasons that it is my duty to make the reader have a pleasant reading experience. This is where one of the main problems of virtue ethics arises, that being the fact that in virtue ethics a lot of emphasis is given to emotions and feelings and it does not address the questions of “how should I act” etc. but rather ask the questions of “...
The concern is that virtue ethics can leave us a victim to luck. Since we only praise or blame choices of action when they are taken under conscious choice, many things outside our control can affect whether we take virtuous action or not. For instance, a good education, good habits, positive influences, etc. can help the development of virtue. The opposite is also true. Negative influencing facts will promote the opposite of virtue. If this is true, then the development of virtue or lack of development is largely subject to a matter of luck. In some instances, external goods are available and there will be more ease in the development of virtue. However, if we have not control of this availability, then how can we praise or blame the development or lack of development of virtue? This good life is very vulnerable because of the chance of the presence of external goods. This is an essential ingredient of the human condition making the attainment of the good life even more
Virtue ethics is a theory about finding our highest good and doing so will develop a vigorous character within each person. Character is important because it shows that a person has certain beliefs and desires in doing the right thing and when the right thing is accomplished, happiness follows (Hartman, 2006). Virtue ethics derives from Aristotle and he concludes that by doing virtuous acts all through life happiness and respectable character will develop (Morrison & Furlong, 2013). Finding the highest good within oneself brings happiness and great character to that individual.
Vince Lombardi once said, “Leadership is not just one quality, but rather a blend of many qualities; and while no one individual possesses all of the needed talents that go into leadership, each man can develop a combination to make him a leader.” A person needs many qualities to become a great leader. Throughout history, four qualities have remained constant: vision, communication, fixed principles, and confidence.
Life as we know it is full of wonder and mystery. Questions are essential in order for us to discover the world around us and especially understand where we stand in the world. Many philosophers find their inspiration in Aristotle’s work. His work is legendary and his name is known throughout the world. As a philosopher, Aristotle questioned life around him in order to better understand the world and how humans work. One of those various questions included, “What makes a good person?” This question resolves around the theory of virtue ethics. This theory stresses how character and virtue play a major part in moral philosophy. According to Aristotle, someone who has excellent attributes is defined as being virtuous. Both Plato and Aristotle are known as the founding fathers of this theory of virtue. Aristotle is credited more with this theory than Plato. Around the 19th century virtue ethics declined, but resurfaced in the late 1950’s in Anglo-American philosophy. Virtue ethics has risen to prominence once again because of its focus on the virtuous character traits of individuals that help
...more practical with his definition. He claims it is useless to define virtue in the metaphysical sense, because it will never apply to the real world. He defines virtue as actions that gain the praise of others. However, he does not encourage rulers to always strive for virtue. Sometimes, vices can be more beneficial to rule, and in these cases, it is okay to embrace these vices; however, vices should not be pursued for their own sake. Both authors agree that it is important to have a balance between extreme vices. It seems that back in Aristotle’s time, philosophy was much more idealized in determining what the greatest possible definition of virtue was. In Machiavelli’s time, thinking was more practical and oriented on the product than the ideal. Machiavelli gives much more functional advice on how to rule, and his definition of virtue is therefore more sensible.
To become a truly effective leader, one must encapsulate the various behaviors related to the aforementioned course learnings in his/her persona and demonstrate such behaviors daily. This course has allowed me to identify four behaviors that all leaders must portray to be effective. The first of which is that a leader must be inspirational. To do so, a leader must set the appropriate vision and direction for the organization and provide a path to achieving defined goals. Additionally, a leader must induce the proper levels of motivation so that each employee has sufficient incentive to work towards the organization’s goals. As discussed in the class, motivation can be accomplished by factors such as rewarding hard work and providing the correct opportunities to employees. While these are motivating in that employees desire to be fairly compensated and to be doing work they deem valuable, inspiration comes more from organizational culture. A leader will be inspirational by setting a tone that appreciates each employee’s contribution, no matter how small in scale it is. Further, employees are inspired when they work collaboratively in a group setting and can capitalize on individual strengths to drive organizational goals.
The virtues defined by Aristotle consist of two extremes or vices, the excess and the deficiency. The mean or the intermediate between the excess and the deficiency is the virtue. One virtue Aristotle explains is bravery, with its vices being rashness and cowardice. Each aspect of these is contrary to the others, meaning that the intermediate opposes the extreme. Similarly, one extreme opposes the mean and its other extreme. The implications of this are that the excess opposes the deficiency more than the mean. This causes the mean to sometimes resemble its neighboring extreme. Obtaining the mean involves the challenge of being excellent. The challenging part, however, is “doing it to the right person, in the right amount, at the right time, for the right end, and in the right way” (Nicomachean Ethics 1109a28-29:29). Fortunately, one can steer themselves to the mean if one is conscious of the extreme they are naturally inclined to go towards. Since everybody is uniquely different the means by which one steers themselves in the right direction is different for each individual. In addition, Aristotle names three requirements for an action to be a virtue. First one must be cons...
things that appear to be virtues will, if he practices them, ruin him, and some