Machiavelli, Plato, Aristotle Essay Example for Free

Machiavelli, Plato, Aristotle Essay Machiavelli in his book â€Å"The Prince† seems to sap the very foundations of morality and stops at nothing short of capsizing the entire edifice of religion. His thoughts resonate with a loathing of true virtue and propagate corrupted politics. Actually, today the term Machiavellianism is used to refer to the use of deceitfulness to advance one’s goals or desires. In ‘The Prince†, Machiavelli breaks from the classical view of virtue as represented by his philosophic predecessors Plato and Aristotle. Whereas his predecessors held virtue in an ideal environment (idealism), Machiavelli defined virtue in a real environment where one is judged by his actions and not by the way his actions ought to be (realism). According to Plato and Aristotle good life only exists in total virtue where a person will be most happy. Plato places emphasis on the extinction of personal desires through love so that one can achieve happiness (Barker, 1959). Aristotle on the other hand believes that an ideal or perfect state brings out the virtue in all men. A person will gain happiness when all their actions and goals are virtuous. This implies that according to Aristotle happiness is a group goal and not an individual goal (Barker, 1959). Plato equally in bringing out the essence of love which must be shared among people suggests that happiness is a group goal. However, virtue in the Machiavellian sense seems to lack a moral tone. By virtue, he alludes to personal qualities needed for the achievement of one’s own ends (Machiavelli, 1998). His view seems to be directed at self interests and not a common goal. In pursuing personal interests, one is not careful about the means by which he does so and therefore is not bound by a moral imperative. In â€Å"The Prince† Machiavelli describes two types of principalities. One is hereditary and the other is acquired. He observes that though no virtue is required to attain a hereditary principality, it takes virtue to acquire and maintain a new principality. The basis of his views does not entirely contradict the classical view on morality, however, he goes on further to illustrate and make allowances for evil, and this is what brings about the contradiction. For example Machiavelli states, â€Å"When a new territory does not share the same language and culture as the prince’s original territory, the prince must have the wisdom and ability to assimilate the new territory† (Machiavelli, 1998). This view wholly concurs with Plato’s on the need for wisdom as a virtue. On ability however, Machiavelli alludes to the use of force or violent means which defies views on classical morality. In the same chapter, he goes on to say that a prince ought to protect his weaker neighbors and prevent the powerful ones from gaining more power. The virtue of courage here echoes the principle virtues as outlined by Plato, courage being one of them. However, Machiavelli encourages the prince not to hesitate in using force to enforce this (Machiavelli, 1998). This goes against the grain of conventional virtue as it encourages people in power to use whatever means, even ruthless, to preserve their power. Machiavelli suggests two ways by which a private citizen can become a prince, either by fortune or by ability. Among those who became princes through ability, Machiavelli cites Moses, Cyrus, Romulus, and Francesco Sforza among others. He gives the example of Borgia who inherited power and later lost it to dissuade princes from depending on fortune but rather to use their abilities to attain success. He makes it clear that virtue or ability is more related to statecraft and less related to morality. In undermining morality, he allows for the use of force to gain and preserve power. He says â€Å"A prince who comes to power by evil means is said to have neither fortune nor ability. Such a prince may gain power, but not glory† (Machiavelli, 1998). By â€Å"evil means,† he refers to the use cruelty in proper and improper ways. He explains that if cruelty is utilized to achieve a necessary goal, then it is proper. However, if it is used to achieve no purpose but to instill f ear into the citizens, it is improper. Consequently, the proper use of force according to Machiavelli is a virtue. This contradicts the virtue of moderation as outlined by Plato which puts restrictions on the use of extreme means such as the use of force to achieve goals. One can infer that Plato would advocate for diplomacy rather than force if a prince aimed at achieving allegiance from his subjects. According to Plato, good life is only attained through perfect love which comes about by a submersion of personal desire. According to Machiavelli, â€Å"a prince does not have to be loved by the people, though still he must not be hated† (Machiavelli, 1998). He goes further to explain that history has revealed that men who were not loved but feared were more effective leaders. A ruler who brings mayhem to his state because of his imprudent kindness should not be considered a good leader. For Machiavelli, the virtue a prince should pursue is â€Å"fear from his subjects and not love (Machiavelli, 1998). Such a prince, he explains, will be able to sustain the morale of his subjects, which takes both wisdom and courage. Therefore according to Machiavelli the prince is better of being feared than loved which contradicts the earlier views of Plato, who placed a great emphasis on the pursuit of love as a major virtue. In chapter eighteen of â€Å"The Prince† Machiavelli argues that total honesty is only practical in an ideal world. However, since the world is characterized by dishonest men, a prince cannot be expected to keep all his pledges. Therefore he should endeavor to use deception to his benefit. Machiavelli uses the analogy of the fox and the lion to encourage the prince to be both cunning and courageous. He explains that whereas â€Å"the fox can recognize snares but cannot drive away wolves, the lion can drive away wolves but cannot recognize snares† (Machiavelli, 1998).In this he means that a prince does not need to possess good qualities but should just appear to possess them, since subjects are only interested in outward appearances if they lead to a favorable end. It is from this view that the term ‘Machiavellianism† has been coined to in today’s usage to mean the use of cunningness to achieve undue advantage over one’s subjects. In comparison to the classical view of virtue, Machiavelli’s view lacks a moral sense. Machiavelli’s work on the prince has received wide criticism from a large front including the Catholic Church. As the devil’s advocate, he seems to break away from the conventional virtues of his predecessors Plato and Aristotle openly deriding the church and its fundamentals. Whereas Plato and Aristotle relate living virtuously to godliness, Machiavelli’s virtue involves lying and subordinating atrocious means to practical ends. Realism, which Machiavelli subscribed to, has been defined as a cynical view to politics devoted to furthering personal interests with no regard to moral or religious structures (Schaub, 1998). This view implies that a prince can be at odds with the moral virtue, a contradiction to the classical concept of virtue postulated by both Plato and Aristotle. At a glance of Machiavelli’s â€Å"The Prince†, we largely infer that he goes all out to ill advice the prince against the classical virtues of his predecessors. He seems to herald the triumph of evil over good. However, taking a critical look at the work, one cannot help but notice gaps and disjunctions in the text. For example the characters he picks to illustrate his case. In showing the proper and effective use of cruelty in chapter seventeen, he uses Hannibal and compares him to Scipio as compassionate and therefore ineffective. This is violently at odds with the truth and is ironic at the same time because Scipio accused of compassion defeats Hannibal at the battle of Zama (Machiavelli, 1998). Also, Machiavelli writes in Italian and not Latin, the language of the scholars of whom the princes are. This leaves the question as to who exactly was his target audience. Was he really advising the princes who already knew how to be cruel or was it the subjects, and if the subjects then for what purpose. Therefore, just as much as we have illustrated how Machiavelli strays from the classical virtue, it rests upon the attentive reader to ingest and make a personal judgment as to what Machiavelli really intended to put across.

Physics of Paintball :: physics paintball gun

Fuel For A Paintball Marker The Reason that people need a tank when they play paintball is because you need a way to force the paintballs out of the gun and this cannot be achieved effectively by just using a spring. What they decided to do was to fuel the paintballs by pushing them with a gas. The way in which they did this was to put the gases, either Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide or Nitrogen under extreme pressure until they turned into a liquid and once they are in a liquid form they can be blown into a tank which probably looks something like this. Carbon Dioxide must be under a pressure of at least 415.8 kPaA For it to turn into liquid form. Oxygen and Nitrogen are very similar to this. The way in which the gas is let out is that there is a needle in a valve in the top of the tank and when the tank is screwed into the paintball marker the needle gets pressed down and the entire system becomes pressurized and is ready to be fired. Then when the gun is cocked and the trigger is pulled the bolt is pushed forward, accelerated by the force of the C02 acting behind it and pushes the paintball out. Then the bolt comes back into the read position and the C02 is no longer flowing and is again pushing against the bolt. There are some problems with this system however. One of the major ones is called snowing, where liquid C02 actually gets into the paintball marker, this is not good for multiple reasons, first of all having the liquid C02 on the moving parts inside a marker is not good for it, since many of the parts inside are rubber or plastic. The second problem with this is since the gas is in liquid form it is not expanding as fast and there for is not pushing the paintballs as effectively. This causes a white snow like substance to come out of the barrel of the marker. There are several way that this problem is dealt with, some markers have the guns stored in a vertical position to keep the liquid in the bottom of the tanks. Other markers employ gas lines or expansion chambers, these are basically just tubes or cylinders that run from the tank to the marker and give the C02 a chance to turn from a liquid to a gas.

On Monsieur’s Departure Essay

â€Å"On Monsieur’s Departure†, with its highly interpretive nature and use of strong themes and appropriate literary devices, expresses the inner turmoil of its author, Queen Elizabeth, to the reader. The basic concept of this 17th century poem is one of the divided passions of Queen Elizabeth. Elizabeth loved her country with fierce loyalty and control, but also had her own personal needs, and though it is not entirely certain as to whom this poem was referencing to, it is speculated to be about either the 2nd Earl of Essex or the Duc d’Anjou (French duke of Anjou). Essex (Robert Derereaux) was 30 years Elizabeth’s junior and was a charming, opinionated man with whom Elizabeth was completely enamored, but the relationship terminated when Essex and Elizabeth had a terrible fight and Essex directed an unsuccessful revolt against her. The tragedy pierced further when Elizabeth painfully agreed to have him executed. The duke of Anjou, who later became King Henry III, was a prime member of the French royal family, being both the duke of Anjou and Alenà §on. He was an unattractive man, both body and face, but Elizabeth fancied him enough to allow a lengthy courtship by him. This courtship ended when the duke withdrew from the marriage negotiations in 1582, but there is uncertainty as to why. Elizabeth, if gaining nothing more from this arrangement, did secure a defense alliance and French aid against Spain. The country, in Elizabeth’s mind, remained above her own personal longings – she never married and reigned as the proud Virgin Queen. The first stanza of â€Å"On Monsieur’s Departure† contain uses of Petrarchan conceit, paradox, and the theme of disassociation between the queen and her desires. The Petrarchan conceit (common in Elizabethan love poems) is seen for example in line 2, â€Å"I love and yet am forced to seem to hate†. These comparisons of love and hate are extreme, as the conceptions of both love and hate are the most ultimate and divergent emotions in the English language and do demonstrate a distinct parallel. The literary paradox (statement which is contradictory yet sensical) is prominent in this poem, and can be seen in many instances. The main examples of this are Elizabeth’s contradictions shown in line 2 with â€Å"love† and â€Å"hate†, and in line 5, where she states, â€Å"I am and not, I freeze and yet am burned†. In line 5, the  figure of paradox is evident in â€Å"am† and â€Å"not†, as well as â€Å"freeze† and â₠¬Å"burned†. The recurrent disassociative theme is very prominent, suggesting Elizabeth’s frustration between being a ruler, with obligations and expectations, and being a human being, with inner yearnings and the need for expression . This is especially noticeable when Elizabeth states, â€Å"I seem stark mute but inwardly do prate†¦./Since from myself another self I turned† (4 and 6). Elizabeth is saying how she remains silent about her inner turmoil, but is churning inside with thoughts and concerns. Also, Elizabeth is saying how she turned from herself to another. This could be taken as either Elizabeth pushing aside that part of herself to remain a competent and commanding ruler, or as Elizabeth turning to another person (either the Duc d’Anjou or Essex) for personal reasons and her culpability for doing so. This theme continues throughout the poems through use of other literary contrivances and intricate wording. In the second stanza of â€Å"On Monsieur’s Departure†, Elizabeth includes figurative language, alliteration and the subject of an unattainable self to voice her thoughts. The application of figurative language (expression which uses comparison to describe) is present in line 7, where Elizabeth uses a simile (comparison using ‘like’ or ‘as’). It is written, â€Å"My care is like my shadow in the sun†, stating that to Elizabeth, there is a comparison between her care and her shadow when in the sun. This can be interpreted in many ways, but it is because a simile is used that a mental picture develops to compare the two. The use of alliteration (the repetition of like sounds in speech ) is seen in line 8, where the initial ‘f’ consonants are repeated. The line, â€Å"Follows me flying, flies when I pursue it†, with use of alliteration is concise and artful, with a condense accumulation of emotion. The theme of Elizabeth ’s care (of this man) being unattainable for her to grasp is very eminent in this stanza, with two supporting examples. The first comes in lines 7 and 8, where Elizabeth conveys, â€Å"My care is like my shadow in the sun,/Follows me flying, flies when I pursue it†. She is articulating that her own personal feelings are unconstrained to her, without the control she is wishing to enforce. The second instance in line 11, â€Å"No means I find to rid him from my breast,† expresses not that there is a physical person which she feels the need to remove, but instead that  Elizabeth believes that there is no way to eradicate the thoughts and feelings she has for this man from her heart. This continuing theme of separation from oneself and separation from emotional control is echoed throughout the poem, creating a delicate symmetry between each stanza, and allowing them to unite. The third stanza of â€Å"On Monsieur’s Departure† embraces again figurative language, repetition, and a final accumulation of sentiment through deliberative wording. In this stanza, Elizabeth uses a very important metaphor (expression relating one thing to another) to represent herself. She writes, in line 14, that she is â€Å"made of melting snow†, a phrase which captures thoughts and images that may otherwise not have been so evident. Saying that she is â€Å"made of melting snow† tells the reading audience that Elizabeth is weakened by this, or that she is softened but not yet defeated – the interpretations are ceaseless, which makes this an important part of this final stanza and of the whole poem. The repetition Elizabeth uses in this stanza are towards the end, when she writes, â€Å"Let me or float or sin, be high or low./Or let me live with some more sweet content,/Or die and so forget what love ere meant† (16-18). By using this series of choices as her final statement, Elizabeth is implying a sense of urgency and desperation in her search for a solution. Her final statement is left with a final, hopeless alternative – for her to die and forget about love. By reading these alternatives, each worse than the next, the reader is left with a final note of despondency and a climax of emotion which is expressed with phrases like â€Å"be more cruel†(15), â€Å"float or sink†¦ high or low† (16), and â€Å"die and so forget†. These are intense statements that leave the reader silent from their effect. That is the essence of this poem, a pull and tug game of emotions, with no end solution other than to live forward and exist with ever-constant turmoil, to live, to rule, to sacrifice oneself for something greater. Through the use of different literary devices and a powerful backing theme, Queen Elizabeth has left the world with a literary victory. This poem is a saddening one, but as a love poem, it is expressing not only the pain, frustration and despair longing can produce, but also the strength and might  that backs it.

Example Sentences of the English Verb To Keep

This page provides example sentences of the English verb Keep in all tenses including active and passive forms, as well as conditional and modal forms. Base Form keep / Past Simple kept / Past Participle kept / Gerund keeping Present Simple She keeps all her birthday cards every year. Present Simple Passive The key is kept by the doorman. Present Continuous He is currently keeping up the house while his parents are away. Present Continuous Passive The house is being kept up by Jason while his parents are away. Present Perfect Im afraid I havent kept up with the news recently. Present Perfect Passive The information has been kept up to date by Alice. Present Perfect Continuous We have been keeping bees for the last few years. Past Simple She kept a diary while she was on holiday. Past Simple Passive A journal was kept by the teacher on each student. Past Continuous They were keeping watch over the house when it was broken into by thieves. Past Continuous Passive The house was being kept watch over by the Wilsons when it was broken into by thieves. Past Perfect The had kept an expense journal before they moved to New York. Past Perfect Passive An expense journal had been kept before they moved to New York. Past Perfect Continuous We had been keeping up with the Jones before they moved to Los Angeles. Future (Will) She will keep the children while we are away. Future (Will) Passive The children will be kept by Cheryl while we are away. Future (Going to) Cheryl is going to keep the children during the holidays. Future (Going to) Passive The children are going to be kept by Cheryl during the holidays. Future Continuous They will be keeping a record of the meeting tomorrow afternoon. Future Perfect Janice will have been kept up to date so you can ask her. Future Possibility She might keep that present. Real Conditional If she keeps up exercising, she will be in great shape. Unreal Conditional If she kept up exercising, she would be in great shape. Past Unreal Conditional If she had kept up exercising, she would have been in great shape. Present Modal She should keep up with the class. Past Modal Harry might have kept up with the developments. Quiz: Conjugate With Keep Use the verb to keep to conjugate the following sentences. Quiz answers are below. In some cases, more than one answer may be correct. She _____ the children while we are away.She _____ a diary while she was on holiday.The_____ an expense journal before they moved to New York.Janice _____ up to date so you can ask her.If she _____ up exercising, she would have been in great shape.The key _____ by the doorman.We _____ bees for the last few years.A journal _____ by the teacher on each student.Im afraid I _____ up with the news recently.Cheryl _____ the children during the holidays. Thats the plan. Quiz Answers will keepkepthad keptwill have been kepthad keptis kepthave been keepingwas kepthavent keptis going to keep