"Gli umori delle parti" : humoral dynamics and democratic potential in the Florentine Histories
In this essay I consider the potential of Machiavelli’s Florentine Histories to contribute to the enrichment of contemporary democratic theory. In opposition to both of the major groups of current interpreters of this text—those who see it as representative of a conservative turn in Machiavelli’s th...
| প্রধান লেখক: | |
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| অন্যান্য লেখক: | |
| বিন্যাস: | Journal Article |
| ভাষা: | English |
| প্রকাশিত: |
2020
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| বিষয়গুলি: | |
| অনলাইন ব্যবহার করুন: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/145149 |
| _version_ | 1826123608302288896 |
|---|---|
| author | Holman, Christopher |
| author2 | School of Social Sciences |
| author_facet | School of Social Sciences Holman, Christopher |
| author_sort | Holman, Christopher |
| collection | NTU |
| description | In this essay I consider the potential of Machiavelli’s Florentine Histories to contribute to the enrichment of contemporary democratic theory. In opposition to both of the major groups of current interpreters of this text—those who see it as representative of a conservative turn in Machiavelli’s thought grounded in a newfound skepticism regarding popular political competencies, and those who see it as merely a re-presentation of the republican commitments of the Discourses on Livy—I argue that it reveals to us a unique political potentiality, but one that is essential for the construction of an internally consistent Machiavellian theory of democracy. Specifically, through disclosing the historicity and contingency of the humors of the parts of the city, the Histories suggests the possibility of concretely actualizing a condition of social equality, thus overcoming the main democratic deficit of the Discourses—the perpetuation of inequality, as represented in the preservation of the existence of a class with a desire to oppress. |
| first_indexed | 2024-10-01T06:07:08Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | ntu-10356/145149 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-10-01T06:07:08Z |
| publishDate | 2020 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/1451492023-03-05T15:33:09Z "Gli umori delle parti" : humoral dynamics and democratic potential in the Florentine Histories Holman, Christopher School of Social Sciences Social sciences::Political science::Political theory Democracy Equality In this essay I consider the potential of Machiavelli’s Florentine Histories to contribute to the enrichment of contemporary democratic theory. In opposition to both of the major groups of current interpreters of this text—those who see it as representative of a conservative turn in Machiavelli’s thought grounded in a newfound skepticism regarding popular political competencies, and those who see it as merely a re-presentation of the republican commitments of the Discourses on Livy—I argue that it reveals to us a unique political potentiality, but one that is essential for the construction of an internally consistent Machiavellian theory of democracy. Specifically, through disclosing the historicity and contingency of the humors of the parts of the city, the Histories suggests the possibility of concretely actualizing a condition of social equality, thus overcoming the main democratic deficit of the Discourses—the perpetuation of inequality, as represented in the preservation of the existence of a class with a desire to oppress. Ministry of Education (MOE) Accepted version Research for the project of which this paper is a part was supported by a Singapore Ministry of Education AcRF Tier 1 Grant. 2020-12-14T05:48:55Z 2020-12-14T05:48:55Z 2020 Journal Article Holman, C. (2020). "Gli umori delle parti" : humoral dynamics and democratic potential in the Florentine Histories. Political Theory, 48(6), 723-750. doi:10.1177/0090591720914410 0090-5917 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/145149 10.1177/0090591720914410 6 48 723 750 en RG70/18 Political Theory © 2020 SAGE Publications. All rights reserved. This paper was published in Political Theory and is made available with permission of SAGE Publications. application/pdf |
| spellingShingle | Social sciences::Political science::Political theory Democracy Equality Holman, Christopher "Gli umori delle parti" : humoral dynamics and democratic potential in the Florentine Histories |
| title | "Gli umori delle parti" : humoral dynamics and democratic potential in the Florentine Histories |
| title_full | "Gli umori delle parti" : humoral dynamics and democratic potential in the Florentine Histories |
| title_fullStr | "Gli umori delle parti" : humoral dynamics and democratic potential in the Florentine Histories |
| title_full_unstemmed | "Gli umori delle parti" : humoral dynamics and democratic potential in the Florentine Histories |
| title_short | "Gli umori delle parti" : humoral dynamics and democratic potential in the Florentine Histories |
| title_sort | gli umori delle parti humoral dynamics and democratic potential in the florentine histories |
| topic | Social sciences::Political science::Political theory Democracy Equality |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/145149 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT holmanchristopher gliumoridellepartihumoraldynamicsanddemocraticpotentialintheflorentinehistories |