Old and New Threads: The Functions of Fear in Niccolò Machiavelli’s Discourses on Livy
Journal title RIVISTA DI STORIA DELLA FILOSOFIA
Author/s Alessio Panichi
Publishing Year 2026 Issue 2025/3
Language English Pages 35 P. 364-398 File size 236 KB
DOI 10.3280/SF2025-003002
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Old and New Threads: The Functions of Fear in Niccolò Machiavelli’s Discourses on Livy. The article aims to study the functions of fear in Niccolò Machiavelli’s Discourses on Livy. More specifically, the article intends to accomplish three different but related goals. The first goal is to prove that Machiavelli weaves his thoughts on fear by tying new threads to old ones. He draws on some of the functions of fear emerging from The Prince as well as from the ante res perditas writings, thus showing intellectual consistency in this regard. The second goal is to point out that Machiavelli further develops those recurring functions. He applies them in new theoretical contexts, enriches them with circumstance-based remarks, and connects them with other key psychological factors, such as love, hatred, and discontent. The third goal is to underscore that Machiavelli’s thoughts on fear in the Discourses constitute an articulated conceptual framework, which allows him to explain political dynamics, historical events, and their psychological underpinnings.
Keywords: Niccolò Machiavelli, Polybius, Emotions, Fear, Punishment, Religion.
Alessio Panichi, Old and New Threads: The Functions of Fear in Niccolò Machiavelli’s Discourses on Livy in "RIVISTA DI STORIA DELLA FILOSOFIA" 3/2025, pp 364-398, DOI: 10.3280/SF2025-003002