Niccolo Machiavelli | The Most Misunderstood Philosopher in History
Machiavelli's Complete Philosophy
The world does not reward good intentions. We follow Machiavelli from a young diplomat watching power operate in the courts and camps of Renaissance Italy to a philosophical vision that five centuries of enemies have not been able to destroy. We explore his years as a servant of the Florentine Republic, his arrest, torture, and exile, and the desperate circumstances in which he wrote The Prince. We unpack his central argument, that anyone who wants to understand politics must begin with the world as it is rather than as it ought to be. We examine virtu and fortuna, the fox and the lion, cruelty well used and cruelty badly used. We enter the Discourses on Livy and discover a passionate republican behind the supposed teacher of tyrants. We confront the problem of dirty hands, and ask the question Machiavelli leaves behind: what does it cost to see the world without illusions? The full episode is on YouTube and Spotify. Please listen only in safe, restful contexts.
