1 Essays - Ancient Athenians, Ancient Greeks, Philaidae, Free Essays

1 Essays - Ancient Athenians, Ancient Greeks, Philaidae, Free Essays Reflective essay Student's name Institution affiliation Instructor's name Course date of submission Thucydides Thucydides was a Greek philosopher and an author of the Peloponnesian war, there i s an aspect of war. In his work the "Peloponnesian war" Thucydides have highlighted some aspects that are critical even in modern world concerning effects of war and its impact on human race Morley, N. D. G. (2018) . His work rotates on the impacts of the war and the negative effects that resulted from the war. The aspect of war is vividly portrayed in Thucydides work. A lot of people lost their lives in the Peloponnesian war, this is also witnessed in modern world. In his work he tries to show how this war created great rift between Athens and Sparta. Thucydides say, "beginning at the moment that it broke out, and believing that it would be a great war and more worthy of relation than any that had preceded it . This clearly shows the impact that Peloponnesian war had (Wu, 2018) . Another feature that is evident in Thucydides work is use of direct prose, he achie ved this through compelling numerous sources into a single persuasive voice. The aspect of revenge is also apparent in his work, after the outbreak of the Peloponnesian war there was increased political instability thus forcing Athens and Sparta to revenge against each other. Thucydides says, " At the time, Athens was a high sea power with a democratic political system and innovative leadership that made it a formidable force.'' Many lives were lost during this time, thus making Thucydides work to show vividly the effects of war (Tsakmakis, and Tamiolaki, 2013) . Machiavelli Power and Control Machiavelli was an Italian philosopher, one aspect of his work is on power and control. According to Machiavelli's his view of politics, philosophy, and the human person would enable a prince who adopted them to acquire power and keep it for a substantial period. Machiavelli was a realist rather than a moralist (Lucchese, 2017) . His perception of human beings was as they are and not as they should be. Subsequently, he recognized that human beings are predisposed not to follow the advice that philosophers give. Machiavelli, therefore, chose to provide people with practical information rather than idealistic advice. Machiavelli's description of politics and human behavior was it was as opposed to a visionar y perspective ( Nederman, and Bogiaris, 2018 ). Machiavelli's philosophy was therefore feasible on the basis that is identified the flaws in human character that made them unable to take general advice. His advice was formulated on the knowledge that practicalit y was essential for information to be useful to human beings. Machiavelli's strategy would be feasible at this time because it was necessary for the state to be in control of its subjects by giving them incentives such as peaceful coexistence and protection to remain part of the country. Machiavelli's philosophy would create enduring political philosophy because it would be built on visionary leadership that appreciates and understands the importance of the power of leadership (Hoipkemier, 2018) . Machiavelli's political philosophy observes that the leader in the state and the state is the leader. The leader, therefore, has to be visionary and needs to be on the same level as the state for the leadership to be effective. The virtues, vision, and mission of the leader will set a precedent for the state to follow. An enduring political state will, therefore, require leadership that recognizes the role of leadership in directing the state towards stability and prosperity . References Wu, C. X. (2018). The Thucydides' Trap, Rationalist Theories of War, and China-US Relations. Rationalist Theories of War, and China-US Relations (August 23, 2018) . Nederman, C. J., Bogiaris, G. (2018). Niccolo Machiavelli. In The History of Evil in the Early Modern Age (pp. 63-78). Routledge. Hoipkemier, M. (2018). Machiavelli and the Double Politics of Ambition. Political Studies , 66 (1), 245-260. Lucchese, F. D. (2017). Machiavelli and constituent power: The revolutionary foundation of modern political thought. European Journal of Political Theory , 16 (1), 3-23. Morley, N. D. G. (2018). Thucydides: origins of realism ?. Edinburgh University Press. Tsakmakis, A., Tamiolaki, M. (Eds.).