Socrates And Machiavelli Analysis - 936 Words

Socrates instilled value in living life as it ought to be and ingrained the pursuit of truth into all of his actions. He relished living as a gadfly to the state; arousing thoughts in others as a means to bring them to higher points of understanding and critical examination, which they then were to apply to their own society. He wanted people to live lives as they ought to live them and for the state to be a reflection of that aim. The leader advocated by Machiavelli, The Prince, is far more authoritarian and holds entirely different values in comparison to Socrates. The Prince is an individual who maintains complete hegemony over his subjects through nearly any means. The Prince will lie, kill, torture, and manipulate in order to†¦show more content†¦Socrates did what many could never do, he knowingly defied instinct, and chose his values over his own life. From his actions alone we can conclude that Socrates’ ideal leader is one who would act in line with the pursui t of goodness, morality, and truth. A leader appreciated by Socrates would have traits such as introspection, pursuing moral outcomes, and not sticking to a status quo for the sake of it just being generally accepted. Machiavelli, conversely, through The Prince, asserts his end and goal to be power and the use of power to ensure stability. The means towards achieving this end, at least by Socratic standards, are comparably much more immoral. The Prince is liable to retain his power and political status quo through means which could included killing off those who’d oppose him, killing off those whose deaths would be convenient to him, using deceit to reach his desired position, and promoting deception over truth to maintain sovereignty over others. Machiavelli even goes as far as to assert that the priority of the Prince should be instilling fear of him into his constituents rather than love of him and appreciation of his rule. Socratic and Machiavellian valuesShow MoreRelatedSocrates And Machiavelli1681 Words   |  7 PagesSocrates, in his early works, maintained a steadfast distance from involvement in politics, making a comparison or evaluation of a political system in his persona technically impossible. To claim that Socrates would or would not be supportive of any political system might then seem irresponsible, a presumptuous analysis not fitting for an academic recognizing the false equivalence between Socrates’ philosophy and Machiavelli’s political ethics. The strategy to conduct any sort of liable and validRead MorePolitical Theorists, Niccolo Machiavelli And Socrates1630 Words   |  7 PagesPolitical theorists, Niccolo Machiavelli and Socrates, formulated their thoughts in heightened political climates in their respective countries leading to their definitive and explicit opinions surrounding how a governmental system should be run. The government systems proposed by both theorists are vastly different due to what each individual prioritizes in terms of political necessities. Machiavelli’s concept is to describe the means in obtaining power in order to define a political structure thatRead MoreNiccolo Machiavelli And Plato1693 Words   |  7 PagesNicco lo Machiavelli and Socrates (through Plato) have both given the world plenty of advice when it comes to governing. Both men have contributed to the debate of what a ‘prince’, or ruler, should look like. 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