Machiavelli's ethics

by Benner, Erica

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Title Statements

Full title :Machiavelli's ethics / Erica Benner.

Summary

Machiavelli's Ethics challenges the most entrenched understandings of Machiavelli, arguing that he was a moral and political philosopher who consistently favored the rule of law over that of men, that he had a coherent theory of justice, and that he did not defend the "Machiavellian" maxim that the ends justify the means. By carefully reconstructing the principled foundations of his political theory, Erica Benner gives the most complete account yet of Machiavelli's thought. She argues that his difficult and puzzling style of writing owes far more to ancient Greek sources than is usually recognized, as does his chief aim: to teach readers not how to produce deceptive political appearances and rhetoric, but how to see through them. Drawing on a close reading of Greek authors--including Thucydides, Xenophon, Plato, and Plutarch--Benner identifies a powerful and neglected key to understanding Machiavelli.

Edition Statements

Publication Date:2009.

Publication Statements

Publisher(s):Princeton University Press
Place of Publication:Princeton, NJ
Language:eng
Publication Date:2009.

The Physical Object

Description:xv, 527 p.

Edition Identifiers

oclc:on1261999671
LC Classification:B785.M24
Dewey Decimal:170.92

Introduction. Arguments: philosophical ethics and the rule of law ; Sources: Greek ethics -- [pt. 1] Contexts. Civil reasonings: Machiavelli's practical filosofia ; Ancient sources: cissimulation in Greek ethics -- [pt. 2] Foundations. Imitation and knowledge ; Necessity and virtue ; Human nature and human orders -- [pt. 3] Principles. Free agency and desires for freedom ; Free orders ; Justice and injustice ; Ends and means -- [pt. 4] Politics. Ordinary and extraordinary authority ; Legislators and princes ; Expansion and empire -- Conclusions.