The Weakness of Reasoning in Machiavelli’s "Florentine Histories"

• In Event: Reason, Rhetoric, and Narrative in the Formation of Community

Abstract

Machiavelli’s Florentine Histories—despite recent, excellent studies—still remains underappreciated as a vital source for enriching our understanding of Machiavelli’s distinctive and famously revolutionary rethinking of political life. As such, it is a valuable resource for understanding his most trenchant criticisms of his predecessors as well as the legacy he has bequeathed for understanding politics. This paper focuses on Machiavelli’s account of the Ciompi revolt in Florence as a vivid example of what is meant by his fundamental concept of “humors” (umori) as the driving elements of politics. In contrast to ancient political theorists such as Cicero and Aristotle, who see the orientation of the regime expressed in opinions about justice, Machiavelli presents the incompatible desires not to be ruled, on one hand, and to command or oppress, on the other, as the principle causes for political action. In this paper, I explore the role these humors—and the attendant manifestation of the passions of fear and hope—play in revealing the weakness and irrelevance of “reason” in political life.

Author

• Alexander Duff, University of North Texas