The binomial virtù-fortuna relationship in Machiavelli's ethical and political thought

Authors

  • Jorge D. M. Mateus

Keywords:

Machiavelli. Fortuna. Virtù. Prince. State.

Abstract

The present study represents an effort to deepen and enhance the relationship binomial virtù-fortuna and the key role it plays in Machiavelli’s thought about the sort of society through the action of the prince. On one side the term fortuna, which is immediately related to divine providence and the pagan mythology, instead of representing accidental situations or mere luck, and on the other hand, virtù, the essential capabilities of the prince, the means and excellence that make him act properly in all occasions, according to his own will. The relationship between fortuna and virtù cannot be considered as artificial or arbitrary, a simple result of the changing times. By introducing a cyclical conception of History, Machiavelli emphasizes the importance of events in the pursuit of certain purposes, so the results are the necessary causes of all the prince’s decisions, rather desirable or not. It is thus the prince’s task to enlarge his virtù in order to understand how to act in the new cycle in its concrete time, carefully considering the examples of the past, avoiding the mistakes made by others, outstanding them.

Downloads

Published

2017-02-20

Issue

No. 16

Section

Artigos

License

Argumentos magazine is licensed under an International Creative Commons Attribution License.

The Magazine uses CC BY inclusion

1) The authors retain the copyright granted to the magazine or the right to initial publication, with the work regularly licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution, which allows the sharing of the work with acknowledgment of authorship and initial publication in this magazine.

2) The authors are authorized to contract additional applicable contracts, for non-exclusive distribution of the version of the work published in this journal (for example, publication in the institutional repository or as a chapter of the book), recognition of authorship and initial publication in this journal.

3) Authors are authorized and encourage to publish and distribute their work online (for example, in institutional repositories or on their personal pages) at any time before or during the editorial process, as they can generate productive changes, as well as increase the impact and reference of published work.