Zyklisches geschichtsbild machiavelli biographies definition

Why Machiavelli? That question might naturally and legitimately occur to anyone encountering an entry about him in an encyclopedia of philosophy. Certainly, Machiavelli contributed to a large number of important discourses in Western thought—political theory most notably, but also history and historiography, Italian literature, the principles of warfare, and diplomacy.

But Machiavelli never seems to have considered himself a philosopher—indeed, he often overtly rejected philosophical inquiry as beside the point—nor do his credentials suggest that he fits comfortably into standard models of academic philosophy. His writings are maddeningly and notoriously unsystematic, inconsistent and sometimes self-contradictory.

He tends to appeal to experience and example in the place of rigorous logical analysis.

Avis, Paul, Foundations of Modern Historical Thought: From Machiavelli to Vico, London: Croom Helm.

Yet there are good reasons to include Machiavelli among the greatest of political philosophers, some of which are internal to his writings. In spite of the temptation to emphasize his political pragmatism, a lively scholarly debate rages about the presence of a coherent and original philosophy, addressed to topics of concern to philosophers, at the core of his thought Benner ; Zuckert , ; Baluch ; Bogiaris Moreover, succeeding thinkers who more obviously qualify as philosophers of the first rank did and still do feel compelled to engage with his ideas, either to dispute them or to incorporate his insights into their own teachings.

Even if Machiavelli grazed at the fringes of philosophy, the impact of his extensive musings has been widespread and lasting. Thus, Machiavelli deserves a place at the table in any comprehensive survey of political philosophy. It is speculated that he attended the University of Florence, and even a cursory glance at his corpus reveals that he received an excellent humanist education.

It is only with his entrance into public view, with his appointment in as the Second Chancellor of the Republic of Florence, however, that we begin to acquire a full and accurate picture of his life. For the next fourteen years, Machiavelli engaged in a flurry of diplomatic activity on behalf of Florence, traveling to the major centers of Italy as well as to the royal court of France and to the imperial curia of Maximilian.

Florence had been under a republican government since , when the leading Medici family and its supporters had been driven from power.