Niccolò Machiavelli was an Italian philosopher and writer during the Renaissance who is considered the founder of modern political science. His most famous work is The Prince, a political treatise that instructs rulers on how to gain and maintain power. The Prince recommends that a ruler be feared rather than loved by his people and should not hesitate to lie or use violence when necessary to achieve his goals. Scholars debate Machiavelli's true intentions in writing The Prince, with some arguing it was meant to expose the misdeeds of rulers while others believe it was an attempt to regain political office.

1. Machiavelli’s “The Prince” Lesson
Michele Carretti

2. “The End Justifies the Means”
A statement summarizing the Macchiavelli’s thought even
though it does not appear in any of his works
Meaning: Immoral actions justify morally right
outcomes

3. The Author
• Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli
(3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527) Italian philosopher, humanist,
and writer during the Renaissance
• Founder of modern political science
• “Machiavellian”: something or someone extremely genial and
unscrupulous

4. “The Prince”
•One of the most famous political treatise
•A manual containing instructions to gain and
maintain a principality
•It was included in the “List of Prohibited Books” by the
Catholic Church
•It is preceded by the work “Discourses on Livy”, about the
Republic

5. The qualities of the ideal prince
• Knowledge of history (the events recur cyclically)
• Dreaded rather than loved (fear is a feeling
stronger than gratitude)
• Prudence
• No qualms about lying shamelessly and repeatedly
• Ability to use violence when necessary (in a
single stroke)

6. The intention
There is a great controversy about the aims of Machiavelli:
• Some scholars sustain the theory of the “oblique intention”:
a way to unveil and make the people aware about the
misdeeds of rulers
• Another hypothesis is the “opportunism”:
the booklet was directed to the duke Lorenzo de’ Medici in
order to regain a prestigious office

7. Bibliography:
• Cahn, Steven M. 2005. “Political Philosophy. The
Essential Texts.” New York : Oxford University Press .
• Machiavelli, Niccolò. 1997. “The prince”. Cambridge :
Cambridge University Press
• Patapan, Haig. 2006. “Machiavelli in love, the
modern politics of love and fear “. Lanham, Md. :
Lexington Books

8. Thank you for your attention