Montaigne’s Critique of Machiavellian Politics
Abstract
Montaigne’s critique of Machiavellian politics has not received the attention it deserves, because he does not label the target of his criticism in many comments scattered through his thousand-page Essays. In this article I collect those scattered comments to show that, unlike most other critics at his time and later, Montaigne does not fault the education Machiavelli offers political leaders primarily for being immoral and irreligious. He contends that leaders who follow Machiavelli’s advice to lie constantly, understand politics essentially as a form of fighting, and attempt to win glory by destroying established institutions and laws in order to found “new modes and orders” are not apt to achieve either their political or their private, individual goals.
Downloads
References
Benner, E. (2016). Machiavelli’s Prince: A New Reading. Oxford University Press.
Dalberg-Acton, J. (1907). The History of Freedom and Other Essays. MacMillan.
Fontana, B. (2008). Montaigne’s Politics. Princeton University Press.
Friedrich, H. (1949). Montaigne. A. Francke Verlag.
Gillespie, M. A. (1985). Montaigne’s Humanistic Liberalism. Journal of Politics, 47 (1), 140-159.
Hartle, A. (2003). Michel de Montaigne: Accidental Philosopher. Cambridge University Press.
Hartle, A. (2013). Montaigne and the Origins of Modern Political Philosophy. Northwestern University Press.
Quaint, D. (1998). Montaigne and the Quality of Mercy: Ethical and Political Themes in the Essais. Princeton University Press.
Levine, A. (2001). Sensual Philosophy: Toleration, Skepticism, and Montaigne’s Politics of the Self. Lexington Books.
McCormick, J. (2018). Reading Machiavelli. Princeton University Press.
Maquiavelo, N. (1998). The Prince. University of Chicago Press.
Maquiavelo, N. (2003). Art of War. University of Chicago Press.
Maquiavelo, N. (2011). El príncipe. En Maquiavelo (1-89). Editorial Gredos.
Maquiavelo, N. (2011). Discursos sobre la primera década de Tito Livio. En Maquiavelo (245-633). Editorial Gredos.
Montaigne, M. (1957). The Complete Essays of Montaigne. Stanford University Press.
Montaigne, M. Les essais. Edición online disponible en : https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/ efts/ARTFL/projects/montaigne/
Montaigne, M. (2002a). Ensayos II. Cátedra.
Montaigne, M. (2002b). Ensayos III. Cátedra.
Montaigne, M. (2022). Ensayos I. Cátedra.
Nehemas, A. (1999). The Art of Living. University of California Press.
Rorty, R. (1989). Contingency, Irony, Solidarity. Cambridge University Press.
Schaefer, D. L. (1990). The Political Philosophy of Montaigne. Cornell University Press.
Shklar, J. (1984). Ordinary Vices. Belknap Press.
Storey, B. and Storey, J. S. (2021). Why We are Restless: On the Modern Quest for Contentment. Princeton University Press.
Sullivan, V. B. (2017). Montesquieu and the Despotic Ideas of Europe. University of Chicago Press.
Walzer, M. (1973). Political Action: The Problem of Dirty Hands. Philosophy & Public Affairs, 2 (2), 160-180.
Zuckert, C. (2017). Machiavelli’s Politics. University of Chicago Press.
Eunomía. Revista en Cultura de la Legalidad is a duly registered journal, with EISSN 2253-6655.
The articles published in Eunomía are –unless indicated otherwise– under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 Spain license. You can copy, distribute and communicate them publicly as long as you cite their author and the journal and institution that publishes them and do not make derivative works with them. The full license can be consulted at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0/es/deed.es
