Open AccessA CONTINGÊNCIA DA POLÍTICA E A NECESSIDADE DA HIPOCRISIA EM O PRÍNCIPE DE MAQUIAVEL
Author(s) -
Albano Pina
Publication year - 2023
Publication title -
ethics, politics and society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2184-2582
DOI - 10.21814/eps.2.1.88
Subject(s) - hypocrisy , virtue , power (physics) , constitution , politics , philosophy , state (computer science) , skepticism , sovereignty , law , humanities , law and economics , sociology , political science , epistemology , theology , physics , algorithm , quantum mechanics , computer science
In his most famous work, Machiavelli showed how the prince is neverassessed by what he is, but according to what he appears to be. Therefore, thepolitician needs to act as a hypocrite, as a ‘great pretender and dissembler’, tomaintain the support of the people on which his power relies. However, hypocrisydoes not simply mean deception of the ruled by the rulers. Given the social divisionwhich underlies the state, it actually plays a fundamental role in the imaginaryconstitution of a sovereign power capable of imposing unity and stability oncollective life. Our aim is to question the use of hypocrisy in order to emphasize thedistinction introduced by Machiavelli between moral virtue and political ‘virtù’.Furthermore, we will try to demonstrate how it is presented as part of a broaderstrategy against the unpredictable effects of time, symbolized by the metaphor of‘Fortuna’.