Machiavelli

Fate vs. Free Will- Man is free to mold his own destiny... He certainly should not stand back, and let others, or some other, greater, force decide for him. If he does, then his sense of power decreases. For example, "God is not willing to do everything, and thus take away our free will and that share of glory which belongs to us." (Machiavelli) Free will must be taken seriously, and when making decisions, one must carefully examine all possibilities. The lessons that Machiavelli offers to princes are lessons in critical thinking. "Rulers must learn how to make distinctions, how to consider alternative courses of action and evaluate their consequences, how to assess critically conflicting advice from various sources. If they are to preserve and maintain their states, they need to know how to apply general information about human nature to the particular circumstances that they face before taking any action." (Salmon)