Machiavelli recommends the following character and behavior for princes: It is better to be stingy than generous. It is better to be cruel than merciful. It is better to break promises if keeping them would be against one's interests.
Among the precepts espoused by Machiavelli: leaders should always mask their true intentions, avoid inconsistency, and frequently “act against mercy, against faith, against humanity, against frankness, against religion, in order to preserve the state.” His name has become synonymous with cunning tyrants.
Niccolò Machiavelli talks about three different types of minds in The Prince. One of these is the mind, which is capable of thinking for itself. The second is the mind that can understand what others think, and the third is the mind that can neither think for itself nor understand the thoughts of others.
According to Machiavelli, virtù includes pride, bravery, skill, forcefulness, and an amount of ruthlessness coupled with the willingness to do evil when necessary.
Until Machiavelli's writing, most philosophers of politics had defined a good leader as humble, moral and honest. Machiavelli shed that notion, saying frankly, “It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot have both.”
The four virtues named here, prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance, are said to 'turn around the whole of a virtuous life'. In Plato's philosophy, virtue is nearly synonymous with knowledge rather than moral habit.
Machiavelli desperately wanted to return to politics. One of his goals in writing The Prince was to win the favor of Lorenzo de' Medici, then-governor of Florence and the person to whom the book is dedicated; Machiavelli hoped to land an advisory position within the Florentine government.
Sebastian de Grazia, writing about this chapter, refers to Machiavelli's precept as the "Un-Golden Rule"—do unto others as you can expect they will do unto you. In this bestial world, princes must act like beasts, imitating the clever fox, instead of relying only on strength, as does the lion.
Machiavelli has a pessimistic view of human nature and assumes that all men are evil, 27 without any possibility of redemption. This pessimistic conception of men is central to his moral philosophy. Political decisions, especially in judging the morality of the prince, should take this reality into account.
A prince must avoid becoming hated or despised. Taking the property or the women of his subjects will make him hated. Being frivolous, indecisive, and effeminate will make him despised. All a prince's actions should show seriousness, strength, and decisiveness.
To Machiavelli, humans were “ungrateful, fickle, false, cowardly, (and) covetous.” Machiavelli argued that man had the ability to be good, but he was only good when it was in his own self- interest to do so.
making a speech in praise of Love, he organizes his ideas around the four cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance.
The "cardinal" virtues are not the same as the three theological virtues: Faith, Hope, and Charity (Love), named in 1 Corinthians 13. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
The seven deadly sins are pride, envy, gluttony, lust, anger, greed and sloth. The seven heavenly virtues are faith, hope, charity, fortitude, justice, temperance and prudence.
The slogan most associated with Machiavelli, of course, is “the ends justify the means,” a phrase not actually found in any of his writings. Even so, it would seem to capture what most people mean when they use the term “Machiavellian” in a derogatory way.
A prince who wishes to maintain his power ought therefore to learn that he should not be always good, and must use that knowledge as circumstances and the exigencies of his own affairs may seem to require.
Machiavelli's Prince has been surrounded by controversy since its release. Some consider it to be a straightforward description of political reality. Others view the Prince as a manual, teaching would-be tyrants how they should seize and maintain power.
By Niccolò Machiavelli
Yeah, it's nice to have a good reputation, but it's not worth losing sleep over. On the other hand, don't let your reputation get too bad, because if people hate you, you're done for. So, dealing with your reputation and respect is like a walking a tightrope.
Machiavellian personality traits are often associated with low levels of empathy and lack of interpersonal closeness. However, some individuals high on Machiavellian traits have been shown to be skilled at affective-perspective taking and thereby may appear to exhibit an empathic response.
Machiavellianism is not a mental health diagnosis; rather, it's a personality trait describing a manipulative individual who deceives and tricks others to achieve goals. It is based on the political philosophy of the 16th-century writer Niccolò Machiavelli.
“Machiavellians are sly, deceptive, distrusting, and manipulative. They are characterized by cynical and misanthropic beliefs, callousness, a striving for … money, power, and status, and the use of cunning influence tactics.