A "grande política" ou Merleau-Ponty leitor de Maquiavel

This article intends to consider the work of Niccolo Machiavelli from the approach made by Maurice Merleau-Ponty in his text “Note on Machiavelli”. In order to do that, we shall present some general aspects of Merleau-Ponty’s political philosophy, trying to track the presence of Machiavelli in the work of the French philosopher. We shall also consider the elements which guided Merleau-Ponty’s reading of philosophical texts. Regarding Machiavelli’s philosophy, we shall try to highlight the aspects that made the Florentine the first modern political thinker, according to Merleau-Ponty. In conclusion, we shall also consider, following Claude Lefort’s expression, the aspects that make politics in Machiavelli’s thought to be understood as “la grande politique”.