A self-taught political philosopher: who is Machiavelli?

Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli, considered one of the founders of political science, was born on May 3, 1469, in Florence. His father, Bernardo Machiavelli, was a middle-class lawyer by the standards of the time. However, when he died in 1530, he was able to transfer paternal lands to his son. His mother died four years before his father. At that time, Machiavelli was 26 years old. His mother, Bartholomew, was a cultured woman who wrote eulogy to the Virgin Mary, especially in religious-themed quatrains.

What exactly Machiavelli studied is unknown. The only thing certain is that he knows Latin. It is believed that he learned classical Latin and Hellenic literature and acquired a certain degree of legal knowledge from his father. In other words, he's more likely to be self-taught.

Niccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli (3 May 1469 – 21 June 1527), was an Italian diplomat, author, philosopher and historian who lived during the Renaissance. He is best known for his political treatise The Prince (Il Principe), written around 1513 but not published until 1532. He has often been called the father of modern political philosophy and political science.

On May 19, 1498, he was elected from among four candidates as the second secretary of the Council of Ten, which governed the city-state of Florence. It is not clear how and for what reasons Machiavelli was appointed to this post, which many historians see as a kind of prime minister when he was only 29 years old, only guesses can be made.

In Italy between 1480 and 1530, when Machiavelli grew up, his views were shaped, he assumed political duties, wrote his political works, and developed original theses, and city-states were almost boiling. The borders of these states, which are in constant conflict with each other, such as alliances between states and states of friendship, relations of friendship and enmity, are constantly changing from year to year according to the developments in the balance of power, they are built, deteriorated, reconstructed, and deteriorated again.

Machiavelli is 25 years old at the time of the overthrow of the Medicis, who had ruled Florence for many years; has the right to citizenship. It is understood that although he has a family interest and curiosity in politics and state administration, he follows the developments as an impartial spectator. It can be judged that the fact that he did not interfere in the administration of the Medici and that he stayed away from the administration of Girolamo Savonarola, who later took power, opened the door to the state for him. Under circumstances where few people had the right to be elected to the government, Machiavelli's lack of an active political struggle, and the fact that he came from a well-established family distinguished by his republicanism, was an important part of that order, such as the Second Secretariat at a very young age, despite having no previous experience in politics and government. It is understandable that he was chosen.

It is almost impossible to determine exactly the scope of his duties, powers, and responsibilities, especially to say what position the Second Secretary corresponds to today. Some writers and translators adapt it to the present day as the prime minister, some as the ministry of foreign affairs, and some as the undersecretary (in the prime minister or in foreign affairs).

It should be noted that within the framework of his duty, Machiavelli went to France for lengthy diplomatic talks four times, and also made very sensitive negotiations twice with Emperor Maximilien in Germany and twice with Cesare Borgia in Rome.

Machiavelli's tenure as Second Secretary comes to an end with the de facto collapse of the republican order in Florence. In 1512, the Medicis returned to power, and on November 7, Machiavelli was removed from his post. For an extra year, he is forbidden to leave Florence or set foot in the government office. He is also sentenced to a heavy fine. Machiavelli's bad days do not end there. In February 1513, his name is implicated in a conspiracy against the Medicis. The ringleaders are immediately executed, while Machiavelli is imprisoned.

Freed but unemployed after a while, Machiavelli retreats to his mansion near San Casciano, ten kilometers from Florence. We know how he spent his days here from his famous letter to his close friend Francesco Vettori, dated 10 December 1513. The importance of this letter is due to the fact that Machiavelli announced that he was writing The Prince for the first time and that he described the mood in which he wrote it.

The Sovereign (the book was previously translated as The Prince) is written in four months. The book was not of interest to the ruling Lorenzo de Medici, to whom it was dedicated. It cannot be published in book form while Machiavelli is alive. But it is read from manuscript copies for a long time. It was first published in book form in 1532. Numerous editions have been made since then. It has also been discussed which edition is more suitable for the original, since different manuscripts with some redundancies that occurred while copying are taken as the basis, instead of the manuscript written by Machiavelli.

The book did not receive an unfavorable reaction at first, but over time, seeing that anti-clerical movements had a weapon in their hands prompted Rome to act. In 1557, the Church of Rome confronts Machiavelli. Even though Machiavelli died in 1559, he was excommunicated, and praising his name is seen as atheism and atheism. The copies of the Sovereign are burned in the squares. On the other hand, those who are pro-king and especially Republicans embrace the book. Despite this, strict censorship reigns for two hundred years.

The phenomenon called Machiavellianism emerged depending on Machiavelli's The Sovereign. In fact, throughout his life, Machiavelli neither took action nor wrote a work that evoked the definition of Machiavellianism, except for the work in question. Machiavelli, the author of The Discourses, which he started before the Sovereign and completed after him, and Machiavelli, the author of The Sovereign, are like two different authors. While in one he appears to be a litigator, in the other he is realistic. Therefore, those who try to understand Machiavelli encounter someone who writes about two different politics. On the one hand, Machiavelli reduces morality to an instrumental value for politics in The Sovereign, on the other hand, he advocates the permanence and purpose of values such as laws, goodness, and justice in Discourses.

In 1520, Machiavelli's fortunes seemed to be on the way to recovery. Cardinal Giulio de Medici, who has ruled Florence since Lorenzo's death (1519), promises to prepare a new constitution to pacify the opposition and assigns Machiavelli to this task. His 1520 book Discourses on Reform in the Florentine State (Discorso sopra il riformare lo stato di Frenze) is exactly this draft of the constitution, and it is exactly Machiavellian: "There must be a monarchy in Florence as long as the Medicis live, and then a republic must be passed!"

According to most political scientists, Machiavelli is one of the founders of modern political science. As a matter of fact, he was the first to use the term "state" in its current meaning in Europe. Not only that, but it also turned to practice rather than theory by showing the ways of establishing and maintaining the state. For this reason, it has been said that he looks at politics like a chess player. In fact, he has never been a defender of this or that form of government. What interests him is the existence of a stable unity and order in society. In order to establish and maintain this order, he seems to recommend some illegitimate methods to the rulers such as despotism and reneging on promises. This has led to the emergence of a term called Machiavellianism, which means deceit and immorality in the history of politics. As Spinoza points out, the field where the difference between theory and practice is greatest is politics.

His views that all means can be used to achieve the goal are the most criticized views of Machiavelli. These views are known in the history of political science with the term Machiavellianism, which reminds us of cunning, even deceitful, oppressive, and cruel attitudes. However, Machiavelli came up with these ideas under the influence of his passion for the unification of his homeland, Italy. While doing this, he was acting completely realistic and practical. Machiavelli, who lived a very moral life and an honest civil service, was neither a supporter of cheating nor bullying, and he was not even passionate. If it were, as Mosca said, thanks to his merits, he would have risen a lot in his career, and he would not have died in poverty and oblivion.

Although there are different interpretations of Machiavelli, there is a common judgment in almost all of them that Machiavelli is a thinker who reflects his period and conditions in the best way. Machiavelli took a good picture of the period.