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 Posted: Tue Jul 10, 2007 7:06 pm
Hello everyone! I'm brand new on this guild, but I noticed that there were few posts. So, I decided to add this one! Well, anyway, I've been reading tons of Italian philosophy books. My absolute favorite so far is The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli. His ideals and theories have given me much insight to many topics. Though I do not fully side with some of his teachings, I do have to agree with many of them.
In my latest work, I wrote about a dictator who took over a formally democratic government. I, quite literally, did not know anything about dictators or what they might do in different situations. Perhaps, the most brilliant quote in the entire book, I believe, is:
"Here a question arises: whether it is better to be loved than feared, or the reverse. The answer is, of course, that it would be best to be both loved and feared. But since the two rarely come together, anyone compelled to choose will find greater security in being feared than in being loved. . . . Love endures by a bond which men, being scoundrels, may break whenever it serves their advantage to do so; but fear is supported by the dread of pain, which is ever present."
The philosophy of being feared instead of loved, I believe, is a scary but very efficient. I have also heard that many of the top CEO's of the top companies read Machiavelli and use his ideals. I'll post other quotes and topics later, but for right now, let us just talk about the most famous quote.
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Posted: Wed Jul 11, 2007 10:04 pm
Greetings newcommer! =D While I'm proud that you're ready to post away, I'm also a bit miffed that while you glanced at the "empty" forum, you didn't take the time to read the titles of the threads, such as the very first announcement at the top xp Which states that Philosophy related threads are to be posted in the sub-forum. So this thread shall be moved and for future reference, please post all future threads, unless not related to philosophy, in the Subforum. Thanks!
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Posted: Wed Jul 18, 2007 12:20 pm
Machiavelli is an interesting character...
We studied him in Western Civ. and I've read some from The Prince...
I've never heard of a CEO being machiavellian in the sense that they read his books and apply his concepts, though, possibly they're doing so without having read it. Who knows.
Anyway, like almost any philosophy books there are things that I agree with and things that I don't. For example, I don't believe "the ends justify the means"... but, I do agree, that when in power, it is better to be feared than loved...
anyway, that's all I have to say for now.
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Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2007 7:27 pm
For some whacked-out reason, I subconciously connect him to Aristotles "Nicomachean Ethics".
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