Ateneo - UPO

The “Politics of the Centaur”: The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli. The course intends to examine Machiavelli’s philosophical-political thought through the critical and analytical reading of The Prince. The work will be examined by comparing it with other Machiavellian texts and the revolutionary scope, from a theoretical- conceptual point of view, of Machiavelli’s thought will be underlined, in reference to the preceding and subsequent philosophical- political tradition.

N. Machiavelli, Il Principe, ed. G. Inglese, Einaudi, Torino, 2014. Per un quadro biografico di Machiavelli si consiglia la lettura di: M. Viroli, Lo sguardo di Niccolò. Storia di Machiavelli, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 2024. Le studentesse e gli studenti dovranno inoltre preparare un libro a scelta tra: A. Brown, Machiavelli e Lucrezio, Carocci, Roma, 2013; G. Pedullà, Machiavelli in tumulto, Carocci, Roma, 2006; J. P. McCormick, Democrazia machiavelliana. Machiavelli, il potere del popolo e il controllo delle élites, Viella, Roma, 2021; F. Del Lucchese, Tumulti e indignatio. Conflitto, diritto e moltitudine in Machiavelli e Spinoza, Mimesis, Milano, 2022; S. Landi, Lo sguardo di Machiavelli. Una nuova storia intellettuale, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2017; F. Raimondi, L'ordinamento della libertà. Machiavelli a Firenze, Ombre Corte, Verona, 2013; V. Frajese, Attorno all’accademia segreta. Gli avversari della Controriforma e la politica di Venezia (1584-1623), Viella, Roma, 2025.

1) Knowledge: at a basic level, students are required to have a general knowledge of The Prince and the arguments developed by the author in the text. At an advanced level, students are required to have an in-depth knowledge of the text, knowing how to refer to other Machiavellian works and the cultural events of the time. 2) Mastery of the disciplinary scientific vocabulary: at a basic level, students must know and master the author's scientific vocabulary, knowing how to explain philosophical-political concepts in a clear, simple, but exhaustive way. At an advanced level, students are required to have a broad mastery of the scientific vocabulary, which must be used in a conscious and critical manner. 3) Ability to compare, identify and establish connections between the arguments of Machiavelli and other authors: at a basic level, students are required to be able to compare passages of the text, identifying general correlations between concepts. At a more advanced level, the student is required to critically compare texts and concepts, also highlighting the problematic aspects. 4) At a basic level, the student is required to be able to communicate the contents clearly and exhaustively, with didactic purposes. 4b) The ability to use philosophical tools and contents to analyze and address issues and problems related to the contemporary world: at an advanced level, the student is required to be able to use the conceptual tools and devices provided by Machiavelli to analyze the contemporary world. 5) The ability to argue: at a basic level, the student is required to be able to develop a philosophical argument that is clear, simple and linear. At an advanced level, the student is required to mobilize the resources learned to develop an autonomous interpretation of texts and authors.

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Frontal lessons; debate. During the frontal lesson the teacher will present the figure of Machiavelli, will place The Prince in the historical-cultural context of the time and will critically examine the work, relating it to other Machiavellian texts. Some short passages from the philosophical texts and further supplementary material will be made available by the teacher on DIR.

Oral exam. At a first level, the candidate is required to be able to critically analyze passages from The Prince and contextualize them in the philosophical-political horizon of Machiavellian thought. At a more advanced level, the candidate is required to be able to move between the different interpretations and analyze their problematic aspects, also advancing independent critical reflections. The evaluation of the oral exam will be attributed on the basis of the expected learning outcomes

The course intends to critically analyze The Prince, relating the text to other Machiavellian works, within the horizon of an analysis of intellectual history, which involves reading the text within the horizon of the political and cultural events of the time. Furthermore, the main interpretative readings of Machiavelli that emerged in twentieth-century historiography will be examined and will be considered in the light of The Prince, to provide students with the conceptual tools to correctly interpret a philosophical text. Finally, some contemporary critical readings will be proposed, which students will compare with Machiavelli's texts.

1) Know the main theoretical, philosophical- political nodes of Machiavelli's thought; 2) Know the importance of The Prince, in the historiography of the twentieth century 3) Know the main contemporary historiographical readings of Machiavelli's thought 4) Master Machiavelli's philosophical concepts, historiographical categories, using an adequate scientific disciplinary lexicon 5) Argue using the philosophical concepts of Machiavelli's thought