Professor Kozlowski Lectures15 Aug 2025

Machiavelli and the Muqaddimah

Professor Kozlowski ventures into the modern era of political philosophy with a look at two titans of early-Renaissance era political philosophy: Ibn Khaldun, the great Islamic historian and proto-sociologist/economist writing in the post-Mongol Invasion Abassid Caliphate, and Machiavelli, the political philosopher so famous that "Machiavellian" has become synonymous with pragmatic-to-the-point-of-being-a-jerk. We will look at their methods, their observations, their conclusions, and - importantly - their legacy.

Readings today originate in the Muqaddimah of Ibn Khaldun and Machiavelli's The Prince (as found in the Cohen textbook).

Now that we've entered the modern era, additional readings will be plentiful, especially now that people are writing Utopian literature! For today, there is Machiavelli's other landmark work of political philosophy: Discourses on Livy, the tale of "The City of Brass" from the 1001 Arabian Nights, Sir Thomas' More's Utopia, and Tommaso Campanella's City of the Sun. Finally, my video game recommendation is Homeworld: Deserts of Kharnak, as a rough science-fiction approximation of the nomadic Bedouin virtues and problems laid out by Ibn Khaldun.

If you're interested in Professor Kozlowski's other online projects, check out his website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠professorkozlowski.wordpress.com

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