Макијавелијев антрополошки песимизам
Machiavelli's Anthropological Pessimism

Summary/Abstract: This text deals with Machiavelli's concept of human nature in the light of the relationship between the good and the evil in it. His position is that of anthropological pessimism, which means that, according to him, people are predisposed rather for evil than for good. However, this is not an indicative judgment which could be argued or disputed taking into account empirical data, but a presumption a new ruler has to adhere to in order to be successful in politics. Unlike almost all other political thinkers, Machiavelli develops two assumptions on human nature: one of them refers to the nature of subjects, and the other to the nature of rulers or those wishing to become rulers. Rulers and those wishing to come to power need both kinds of knowledge -- that about the nature of the people (populus), and that regarding the nature of the ruler -- while common people need no knowledge at all, unless they strive for a decisive role in politics. Moreover, the nature of the ruler and the people alike is not only given, but determined as well. Thus the ruler, particularly a new one, must have two natures; one which is inherent to him, and the other which is acquired and determined, shaped by knowledge and habits. The former is human, and the latter is bestial, which, again, is dual, and thus the ruler has to resemble two beasts: the fox and the lion. And he has to use both natures, according to the circumstances. Lastly, the writer analyzes Machiavelli's thought, blasphemous from the Christian viewpoint, that God is a friend of the evil. According to Machiavelli, God really seems to like wicked people, even if they are faithless or murderers, provided they establish a new state or create something of a great and lasting value in the state. And he likes them because they are strong, and nothing great or lasting has ever been created in the history without strength (i.e. wickedness) and moral unscrupulousness.

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