Call for Papers
In chapter VII of the Prince , Machiavelli observes that Cesare Borgia was to be blamed simply for one mistake: he did not prevent Giuliano della Rovere his enemy from being elected pope. According to Machiavelli, in fact, the future pope Jules II was among those cardinals who, being offended or intimidated by the Duke, could have been hostile to him because ‘humans offend when moved by fear or hatred’. This authoritative statement is relevant for two different and complementary reasons. On the one hand, it shows Machiavelli’s attention to the emotional and psychological dimension of political action, which cannot be simply understood as a logical response to needs and desires. On the other hand, it highlights a permanent element in Machiavelli’s thought, which spans through ante and post res perditas writings: passions influence action, both soliciting or forcing humans into taking a decision or an initiative, or conversely inhibiting their reaction to challenges and impulses. This is true not only for emotions such as fear and hatred two prominent “lords” in Machiavelli’s political psychology but also, for instance, for love, as stated in Discourses on Livy III 21, where the quondam Secretary declares that ‘humans are moved by two main things, that is love and fear’. Nonetheless, the Discourses show how Machiavelli’s consideration of the role of passions is not limited to their propulsive function. In Discourses I 3, discussing the constitution of the tribune of the plebs, Machiavelli underlines that fear prompted by t he Tarquins and their potential allegiance with the plebeians held the roman aristocrats from oppressing the latter as usual. However, their vexation , ‘as soon as the Tarquins were killed’ and ‘the nobles got over their fear’ begun again . What has been said about fear so far still holds true for the other passions, capable of inhibiting and restraining action. Machiavelli, being particularly sensitive to the constant varying of contexts and circumstances, represents passions as stirring or restraint to action, both in politics and warfare as confirmed by the accounts and descriptions of battle throughout Machiavelli’s corpus, from the First Decade to the Florentine Histories.
This special issue of Machiavelliana aims at examining these different perspectives, underlining the specific characterization of passions in one or more of Machiavelli’s writings as well as his broader assessment.
In particular, the goal is to explore how a particular passion affects action working as restraint, paralysis, and inhibition of its effectiveness or, on the contrary, as stimulus in situation of extreme hardship. In other words, this special issue is devoted to a comprehensive examination of the phenomenology of passions and their practical impact, as well as of its relationship to the concept of virtù especially in its activistic and “impetuous” connotation. If ardour (impeto) is both a blind impulse that “naturally” drives humans to action and the result of the ability to attentively calculate risks and options, what is then its connection with passion? What is the nexus between passion conceived of as inhibition and as “furious” action? How virtue understood as control over passions can also be understood in its privileged relation to ardour and courage? More generally, this special issue aims at exploring those passages within Machiavelli’s oeuvre in which it becomes clear how action is affected positively or negatively by extreme and exceptional emotional states . For instance, the panic pervading the army and leading soldiers to fly from a weaker enemy; how rumours and (false) desires affect the opinion of the majority; thoughtless actions in desperate situation; events related to reckless mobs’ fury, and so on.
Topics may include, but are not limited to:
•The political function of individual and/or collective passions
•Function and meaning of concepts such as “ardour”, “fury”, “deference”,
•The relationship between religion and/or superstition and passions such as fear, despair,hope
•The role of passion s in Machiavelli’s remarks on war or in his descriptions of battles
•The relationship between passions, rhetoric, and oratory military, religious and civic
•The modes of inducing and manipulating passions
•The political pedagogy of passions.
Proposals should include contact information, short bio (100 words), title of the article, and the article abstract (500 words). Proposals will be accepted both in Italian and English.
Deadline for article proposal : December 15th, 2023
Deadline for article submission: March 31st, 2024
Please send your proposal to: Valentina Serio, valentina.serio23@gmail.com