Publication Details

Abstract

The paper focuses - in the context of the Renaissance period - on Machiavelli as the founder of a new discipline, namely political science. The author sees an analogy between the rise of the latter and the rise of modern science on the experiential basis. The important idea is that the political system is a human product. From the study of the social reality of the Renaissance period comes out an important innovation, i. e. appearance of new political bodies. Machiavelliś view of the sphere of the political is realistic. In this sense the paper draws on E. Cassirer, seeing the author of The Prince as the first among the Renaissance thinkers, who clearly abandoned previous scholastic tradition of thinking about the state. Machiavelliś political science is interpreted as based on the knowledge of history of the world, as well as of humans. Attention is paid especially to those human qualities, which could be effective in achieving political power. In conclusion the paper shows, that the essential and integrating aspect of Machiavelliś political wisdom is his conviction of a deeply rooted moral corruption of humans.