THE MACHIAVELLIAN CONCEPT OF CIVIC VIRTUES
Oana MATEI, Lecturer Ph.D.
“Vasile Goldiş” Western University of Arad,
Faculty of Humanities, Political and Administrative Sciences
Phone: 0040-257-282324
E-mail: oanamatei@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT. The Machiavellian moment seems to be more and more influent in the context of the 20th and 21st century. Machiavelli’s legacy, once associated with an immoral way of thinking, is, nowadays, more and more interpreted and appreciated. This paper tries to argue that Machiavelli created a new concept of virtues, civic virtues, and this concept is not completely opposed to the traditional Greek concept of virtue, in fact, virtù and arete are two concepts with common origins.
Key words: virtù, the second reason ethics, prudence, savio, phronesis, civic virtues