Does Machiavelli argue that people are we born either good or bad, or Essay

Does Machiavelli argue that people are we born either good or bad, or does he argue that a persons environment and experiences create his or her character - Essay Example The book is overall intended to be a guide for success for potential and acting leaders. Machiavelli is direct, to the point, and wastes little time on debating the morality and virtue of the judgments that a leader must be prepared to make, and, then, having made those judgment, must in fact act without hesitation. â€Å"A prince should have no other aim or thought, nor take up any other thing for his study, but war and its organization and discipline; for that is the only that is necessary to one who commands, and it is of such virtue that it not only maintains those who are born princes, but often enables men of private fortune to attain that rank (p. 421).† In this instruction, Machiavelli is offering the leader or potential leader – since he specifically says that following this advice can help a common man rise to the status of a prince – that in order to be a successful leader over the government, the armies that are governed, and the people, then a leader must be consistent and persistent in his study of the art of the war, because it is only a prince who is authorized to bring on and pursue war. What this specific instruction reveals about Machiavelli’s perceptions on human nature is that a leader must make a study of the art of war. That the leader must make a study of the art of war, is indicative that Machiavelli does not believe that the art of war, which some people may perceive as evil, comes natural to a leader or to a man. If Machiavelli believed that human nature was innately evil, he would not offer advice on studying the art of war because he would have concluded that the art of war was an art that would preoccupy the evil mind. In other words, that the art of war is destructive, deadly, and therefore warring would be a proclivity of a leader, who would therefore need no such instruction.