Machiavelli and the Religion of the Ancients
Platonism and Radical Republicanism
Series: Edinburgh Studies in Comparative Political Theory and Intellectual History;
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Product details:
- Publisher Edinburgh University Press
- Date of Publication 31 July 2026
- ISBN 9781399517829
- Binding Hardback
- No. of pages384 pages
- Size 234x156 mm
- Language English
- Illustrations 3 colour illustrations, 2 b&w illustrations 700
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Short description:
Presents a new interpretation of Machiavelli’s recovery of ancient religion and its role in establishing a modern form of republicanism.
MoreLong description:
Machiavellianism and Platonism are traditionally opposed, as realism is to idealism, and might is to right. This book questions this opposition, arguing that Machiavelli is far more influenced by Platonism than by Epicureanism. The Platonism at the time of the Medici is marked by the reception of Arabic/Islamic and Byzantine interpretations of Plato. These portray Platonism as an expression of an “ancient theology” that offers an alternative to Christianity by undoing a stark opposition between faith and knowledge; emphasising the political and state-founding role of prophets; affirming the continuity between humans and animals; and defending the rationality of divine and human law. Miguel Vatter contends that from these alternative approaches to Platonism, Machiavelli draws a critique of both the Catholic Church and of Humanism, rejecting their oligarchic tendencies in favour of a radical form of republicanism.
MoreTable of Contents:
Acknowledgments
Introduction: From the Ancient Religion to the Modern Economy
1. Primitivism and Constitutionalism: Astral Theology in Medici Florence
2. Of Bastards, Plebeians and Natural Law: Plato, Scala, Plethon and the Machiavellis
3. Virtue Politics, Polybius and Florentine Constitutionalism: Deconstructing the Myth of Venice
4. Necessity and the Legitimacy of the Modern State: Machiavelli’s Reception of Hellenistic Kingship
5. From Divine Economy to the Constitution of Capitalism
Conclusion: Christianity, Republicanism and Historical Recurrence
Bibliography
