Today we will know that what is the impact of realism.
IMPACT OF RENAISSANCE
Machiavelli was very much a creature of the Renaissance, his native city of Florence being then the
centre of Italian Renaissance. As mentioned above, in the Middle Ages, the church and the state
were closely interrelated; the church on the whole dominated the state and profoundly influencing
the political philosophy of the latter. The Renaissance impelled men to reexamine things from other
than clerical point of view. It was possible now to formulate political theories on a purely secular
basis and Machiavelli is the chief exponent of this schools of thought.
Renaissance ushered in rationalism which viewed God, man and nature from the stand point of
reason and not faith. The international conflict, following geographical discoveries, produced the
concepts of nationalism and nation- state which went against medieval universalism in church and
state. The most important discovery of the Renaissance- more significant than any single work of art
or any one genius was the discovery of man. The Renaissance goes beyond the moral selfhood of
stoicism, the spiritual uniqueness of Christianity, the aesthetic individuality of the ancient Greeks, and views man in his totality. Displacing God man becomes the centre of the universe, the value of
this new solar system are inevitably different from those of the God centered universe.
The Renaissance signified a rebirth of the human spirit in the attainment of liberty, self confidence
and optimism. In contradiction to the medieval view, which had envisaged the human being as fallen
and depraved in an evil world with the devil at the centre, the Renaissance captured the Greek ideal
of the essential goodness of individual. This return to a pre- Christian attitude towards humans, god
and nature found expression in all aspects of human endeavour and creativity. The Renaissance
signaled the breakdown of a unified Christian society. Among the centers of Renaissance, Florence
was always first, reaching its climax in Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), who most perfectly
represented and lived, the Renaissance ideal of universal man.
Attitude towards Religion
The novelty in Machiavelli’s writings was his attitude towards religion and morality, which
distinguished from all those who preceded him. He was scathing in his attack on the church and its
church for their failure to provide moral aspiration. He wrote thus: We Italians then owe to the
Church of Rome and her priests our having become irreligious and bad, but we owe her a still
greater debt and one that will be the cause of our ruin, namely that the church has kept and still
keeps our country divided. ‘
Machiavelli was anti- church and anti clergy, but not anti religion. He considered religion as
necessary not only for man’s social life but also for the health and prosperity of the state. It was
important within a state because of the influence it wielded over political life in general. Machiavelli’s
attitude towards religion was strictly utilitarian. It was a social force; it played a pivotal role because
it appealed to the selfishness of man through its doctrine of reward and punishment, thereby
inducing proper behaviour and good conduct that was necessary for the well-being of a society.
Religion determined the social and ethical norms and values that governed human conduct and
actions.
According to William Ebenstein, Machiavelli’s views on morals and religion illustrate his belief
in the supremacy of power over other social values. He has so sense of religion as a deep personal
experience, and the mystical element in religion - its supernatural and supranational character is
alien to his outlook. Yet he has a positive attitude toward religion; albeit his religion becomes a tool
of influence and control in the hands of the ruler over the ruled. Machiavelli sees in religion the poor
man’s reason, ethics, and morality put together and ‘where religion exists it is easy to introduce
armies and discipline’ The role of religion as a mere instrument of political domination, cohesion and unity becomes even
clearer in Machiavelli’s advice that the ruler support and spread religious doctrines and beliefs in
miracles that he knows to be false. Machiavelli’s interest in Christianity is not philosophical or
theological , but purely pragmatic land political. He is critical of Christianity because “it glorifies
more the humble and contemplative men than the men of action”, whereas the Roman pagan
religion defied only men who had achieved great glory, such as commanders of republics and chiefs
of republics’ Machiavelli argues that “Christianity idealises humility, lowliness, and a contempt for wordly objects as contrasted with the pagan qualities of grander of soul, strength of body, and other
qualities, that render men formidable”.
Concerning the church, Machiavelli preferred two main charges. First, he states that the
Italians have become’ irreligiou’s and bad’ because of the evil example of the court of Rome’. The
second and more serious accusation is that the church ‘has kept and still keeps our country divided’.
He goes on to say that the sole cause of Italian political disunity is the church. Having acquired
jurisdiction over a considerable portion of Italy “she has never had sufficient power or courage to
enable her to make herself sole sovereign of all Italy”.
Machiavelli distinguished between pagan and Christian moralities, and chose paganism. He
did not condemn Christian morality, nor did he try to redefine the Christian conception of a good
person. He dismissed the Christian view that an individual was endowed with a divine element and
a supernatural end. He also rejected the idea of absolute good. He observed: Goodness is
simply that which sub serves on the average or in the long run, the interests of the mass of
individuals. The terms good and evil have no transcendental reference. They refer to the community
considered as an association of individuals and to nothing else.
Though Machiavelli was critical of Christianity, he retained the basic Christian views on the
differences between good and evil. For instance, he regarded murdering one’s co-citizens, betraying
one’s friends, disloyalty and irreligiousness as lack of virtue not entitled to glory. Machiavelli was
clear that Italy needed a religion similar to one that ancient Roman had, a religion that taught to
serve the interest of the state. He was categorical that Florentines needed political and military
virtues which Christian faith did not impart.
Machiavelli’s attitude to religion and morality made him highly controversial. Strauss
characterized him as a teacher of evil. Prof. Sabine saw him as being amoral. It is beyond dispute
that Machiavelli separated religion from politics and set the tone for one of the main themes of
modern times, namely secularization of thought and life. Though conscious of the importance of
religion as a cementing force in society, he was hostile towards Christianity and looked upon the
Roman Catholic Church as the main adversary. He espoused hostility towards religion, considering
he was writing in Italy prior to the Reformation.
So this is all about it so thanks for reading.
IMPACT OF RENAISSANCE
Machiavelli was very much a creature of the Renaissance, his native city of Florence being then the
centre of Italian Renaissance. As mentioned above, in the Middle Ages, the church and the state
were closely interrelated; the church on the whole dominated the state and profoundly influencing
the political philosophy of the latter. The Renaissance impelled men to reexamine things from other
than clerical point of view. It was possible now to formulate political theories on a purely secular
basis and Machiavelli is the chief exponent of this schools of thought.
Renaissance ushered in rationalism which viewed God, man and nature from the stand point of
reason and not faith. The international conflict, following geographical discoveries, produced the
concepts of nationalism and nation- state which went against medieval universalism in church and
state. The most important discovery of the Renaissance- more significant than any single work of art
or any one genius was the discovery of man. The Renaissance goes beyond the moral selfhood of
stoicism, the spiritual uniqueness of Christianity, the aesthetic individuality of the ancient Greeks, and views man in his totality. Displacing God man becomes the centre of the universe, the value of
this new solar system are inevitably different from those of the God centered universe.
The Renaissance signified a rebirth of the human spirit in the attainment of liberty, self confidence
and optimism. In contradiction to the medieval view, which had envisaged the human being as fallen
and depraved in an evil world with the devil at the centre, the Renaissance captured the Greek ideal
of the essential goodness of individual. This return to a pre- Christian attitude towards humans, god
and nature found expression in all aspects of human endeavour and creativity. The Renaissance
signaled the breakdown of a unified Christian society. Among the centers of Renaissance, Florence
was always first, reaching its climax in Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), who most perfectly
represented and lived, the Renaissance ideal of universal man.
Attitude towards Religion
The novelty in Machiavelli’s writings was his attitude towards religion and morality, which
distinguished from all those who preceded him. He was scathing in his attack on the church and its
church for their failure to provide moral aspiration. He wrote thus: We Italians then owe to the
Church of Rome and her priests our having become irreligious and bad, but we owe her a still
greater debt and one that will be the cause of our ruin, namely that the church has kept and still
keeps our country divided. ‘
Machiavelli was anti- church and anti clergy, but not anti religion. He considered religion as
necessary not only for man’s social life but also for the health and prosperity of the state. It was
important within a state because of the influence it wielded over political life in general. Machiavelli’s
attitude towards religion was strictly utilitarian. It was a social force; it played a pivotal role because
it appealed to the selfishness of man through its doctrine of reward and punishment, thereby
inducing proper behaviour and good conduct that was necessary for the well-being of a society.
Religion determined the social and ethical norms and values that governed human conduct and
actions.
According to William Ebenstein, Machiavelli’s views on morals and religion illustrate his belief
in the supremacy of power over other social values. He has so sense of religion as a deep personal
experience, and the mystical element in religion - its supernatural and supranational character is
alien to his outlook. Yet he has a positive attitude toward religion; albeit his religion becomes a tool
of influence and control in the hands of the ruler over the ruled. Machiavelli sees in religion the poor
man’s reason, ethics, and morality put together and ‘where religion exists it is easy to introduce
armies and discipline’ The role of religion as a mere instrument of political domination, cohesion and unity becomes even
clearer in Machiavelli’s advice that the ruler support and spread religious doctrines and beliefs in
miracles that he knows to be false. Machiavelli’s interest in Christianity is not philosophical or
theological , but purely pragmatic land political. He is critical of Christianity because “it glorifies
more the humble and contemplative men than the men of action”, whereas the Roman pagan
religion defied only men who had achieved great glory, such as commanders of republics and chiefs
of republics’ Machiavelli argues that “Christianity idealises humility, lowliness, and a contempt for wordly objects as contrasted with the pagan qualities of grander of soul, strength of body, and other
qualities, that render men formidable”.
Concerning the church, Machiavelli preferred two main charges. First, he states that the
Italians have become’ irreligiou’s and bad’ because of the evil example of the court of Rome’. The
second and more serious accusation is that the church ‘has kept and still keeps our country divided’.
He goes on to say that the sole cause of Italian political disunity is the church. Having acquired
jurisdiction over a considerable portion of Italy “she has never had sufficient power or courage to
enable her to make herself sole sovereign of all Italy”.
Machiavelli distinguished between pagan and Christian moralities, and chose paganism. He
did not condemn Christian morality, nor did he try to redefine the Christian conception of a good
person. He dismissed the Christian view that an individual was endowed with a divine element and
a supernatural end. He also rejected the idea of absolute good. He observed: Goodness is
simply that which sub serves on the average or in the long run, the interests of the mass of
individuals. The terms good and evil have no transcendental reference. They refer to the community
considered as an association of individuals and to nothing else.
Though Machiavelli was critical of Christianity, he retained the basic Christian views on the
differences between good and evil. For instance, he regarded murdering one’s co-citizens, betraying
one’s friends, disloyalty and irreligiousness as lack of virtue not entitled to glory. Machiavelli was
clear that Italy needed a religion similar to one that ancient Roman had, a religion that taught to
serve the interest of the state. He was categorical that Florentines needed political and military
virtues which Christian faith did not impart.
Machiavelli’s attitude to religion and morality made him highly controversial. Strauss
characterized him as a teacher of evil. Prof. Sabine saw him as being amoral. It is beyond dispute
that Machiavelli separated religion from politics and set the tone for one of the main themes of
modern times, namely secularization of thought and life. Though conscious of the importance of
religion as a cementing force in society, he was hostile towards Christianity and looked upon the
Roman Catholic Church as the main adversary. He espoused hostility towards religion, considering
he was writing in Italy prior to the Reformation.
So this is all about it so thanks for reading.
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