Thanks for breaking it all down so patiently Dr Muldoon. So hard to find proper information about philosophy these days without falling into a weird psudo intellectual rabbit hole :)
I think it's such a perfectly "Machiavellian" twist of fate that this man, who publicly spilled the beans on the inner workings of power and what had been truly going on for ages, was then branded as the inventor of this ruthless pragmatism. "Look how he has corrupted politics (of my rivals of course)!" He probably would be smiling ear to ear if he knew this was his legacy. I love his breakdown on how you can safely ignore the 10% who "feel" (can sense the deception), because the 90% who only "see" (take things at face value) will naturally form a hostile mob and keep them in check. So potent to this day, as leaders simply have to plant one word to label a group that challenges them, and the masses take care of the rest.
I would like to inquire if the "History of Political Thought" playlist is based on the book "A History Of Political Theory " By George Holland Sabine. Because the chronology of the content of the playlist shows a resemblance to the content of the book 1)The city-state 2)Political thought before Plato 1st Video Athenian Democracy | Political Philosophy 3)Plato, The Republic 4)Plato, The statements and the laws 2nd Video Plato - The Republic | Political Philosophy 5) Aristotle's Political Ideals 6) Aristotle's political Actualities 3rd video Aristotle - Politics | Political Philosophy And much more. I am really thankful and if you have a playlist that covers this book then feel free to suggest it to me
Thanks for making such a nice video. Also, what do you think about the change of mind of Machiavelli in the second book he wrote where he praised Medicis? Is it because may be he was afraid of his life and he is trying to live in peace as he did before with writing a book about the prince. Why did he switch views with power to exercise in the first book and then thinking about the people in the second? Thanks. Lots of love from Himalayas of Nepal.
Hi Dr Sadler. I’m new to studying political philosophy and I have a question for you. The question is what do you think is the right method for answering the big questions in political philosophy?
Just found this channel. Your videos are amazing. Are there any Black Philosophers you can speak of In the same time period as the great philosophers we know of today? Or can you provide any reference? This is solely for knowledge purposes only. Thank you. You explain philosophy so well.
I would have to disagree with you. Machiavelli never thought the people should have the power placed in their hands. Machiavelli had a very low opinion of people in general believing them to be vain, stupid, and selfish. So it doesn't follow that he would think the people capable of making decisions for the country. Republics in those times were not like they are now were they are a mix of republics and democracies. They were more like an oligarchy. The people in Machiavelli's time had little to NO power! What Machiavelli did think was that a prince (ruler) should always do what is best for the state and the people even if they didn't see it as being in their best interest. Machiavelli didn't believe in absolute power. He believed that a ruler need others to share in his power and in some cases check his power an example of this would be an oligarchy which is again what republics were in those days. Machiavelli would not approve of our current form of government. He also wouldn't approve of oppressing people either because that causes hate and a prince should never be hated. He would approve of deceiving them as long as they don't find out and the people rarely do because they are stupid.
Many thanks for the great videos, they are to the point and are well presented. I just couldn’t help noting that the Lorenzo, to whom the Letter was destined, is not Lorenzo the magnificent depicted in the picture but his grandson also holding the same name (duke of urbino). All the best!
