Machiavelli's Platonic Problems by Guillaume Bogiaris

Machiavelli's Platonic Problems by Guillaume Bogiaris

Machiavelli is traditionally understood has a thinker who rejected Platonism in bulk. This book argues that even if it is correct to describe him as unsympathetic to Platonic thought, his philosophy addresses it in a deep and nuanced manner. In order to see this, one must first disentangle Machiavelli’s conversation with Plato from his criticism of Christian Florentine Neoplatonism. Once this is done, Machiavelli’s work reveals itself to engage key Platonic themes, such as love, the place of philosophical education in politics, and the relationship between policymaking and mythmaking. This engagement helps us further characterize and clarify essential concepts and axioms of Machiavellian thought, such as fortúna, virtue, the importance of self-reliance, and the proper sources of political knowledge.

“Bogiaris’ enjoyable book offers a compelling and succinct account of the contentious interpretation that Machiavelli’s ‘effectual truth’ aimed to destroy the Renaissance Neoplatonism’s Plato, but not Plato’s political philosophy in generalIt is grounded in primary sources and in careful dialogue with the wide world of Machiavellian scholarship. Highly recommended.”

-- Jarrett A. Carty, Concordia University

“Bogiaris addresses an important and underrepresented area of Machiavelli studies, offering a compelling picture of Machiavelli’s engagement with Greek thought, including a number of helpful insights.”

-- Bill Parsons, Duke Kunshan University

Guillaume Bogiaris is assistant professor of political science and philosophy at the University of West Alabama.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781793616456
ISBN 10	1793616450
Title	Machiavelli's Platonic Problems
Author	Guillaume Bogiaris
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Lexington Books
Year published	2022-09-15
Number of pages	138
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.