This book argues that Machiavelli's thought entertains a more complex relationship to Platonic philosophy than previously assumed. Far from rejecting Platonism in bulk, Machiavelli actually engages with important Platonic tenets, the role of philosophical education for political leaders, and the relationship between mythmaking and policymaking.

• Cover
• Machiavelli’s Platonic Problems
• Machiavelli’s Platonic Problems: Neoplatonism, Eros, Mythmaking, and Philosophy in Machiavellian Thought
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
  • Relevant Debates in the Literature
  • Overview of the Work
  • Scholarly Contributions
  • Notes on Methodology and Translations
  • Notes
• Chapter 1
• Machiavelli, Florentine Neoplatonism, and the Medici
  • Philosophy and Political Education
  • Ficino’s Commentary on the Republic
  • Platonism, Christianity, and the Medicis
  • Notes
• Chapter 2
• Machiavelli’s Critique of Diotima’s Eros
  • Notes
• Chapter 3
• Myths and Policymaking in Machiavelli and Plato
  • Low Mass Intelligence as a Political Obstacle
  • Noble Mythmakers: Numa, Lycurgus, and Solon
  • Savonarola: Ignoble Mythmaker
  • Notes
• Chapter 4
• Hunting, History, and Philosophy in Machiavelli’s Princely Education
  • Politics and Images of Nature
  • The History of Hunting as Metaphor for Philosophy
  • Historical Knowledge, Fortunà, and Philosopher-Hunter Princes
  • Why is Machiavelli Not Making His Most Straightforward Case?
  • Notes
• Conclusion
  • Notes
• Bibliography
• Index
• About the Author