PLSC 114: Introduction to Political Philosophy
Lecture 11 - New Modes and Orders: Machiavelli's The Prince (chaps. 13-26). The discussion of Machiavelli's politics continues in the context of his most famous work, The Prince. A reformer of the moral Christian and classical concepts of goodness and evil, Machiavelli proposes his own definitions of virtue and vice, replacing the vocabulary associated with Plato and the biblical sources. He relates virtue, or virtu, to manliness, force, ambition and the desire to achieve success at all costs. Fortune, or fortuna, is a woman, that must be conquered through policies of force, brutality, and audacity. The problem of "dirty hands" in political and philosophical literature is discussed in detail. (from oyc.yale.edu)
| Lecture 11 - New Modes and Orders: Machiavelli's The Prince (chaps. 13-26) |
| Time | Lecture Chapters |
| [00:00:00] | 1. Introduction and Class Agenda |
| [00:04:09] | 2. "Discourses on Livy" |
| [00:10:30] | 3. The Problem of "Dirty Hands" |
| [00:22:50] | 4. Was Machiavelli a Machiavellian? |
| [00:36:19] | 5. What Did Machiavelli Achieve? |
| References |
| Lecture 11 - New Modes and Orders: Machiavelli's The Prince (chaps. 13-26) Instructor: Professor Steven B. Smith. Resources: Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince [ebook]. Transcript [html]. Audio [mp3]. Download Video [mov]. |
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