I guess what I was getting at by pooling them together is the mindset of being deliberate in your social interaction rather than "being yourself" and letting fate determine the most important aspects of your life.Longshot said:Applying logic to abstract concepts is what philosophy is, broadly speaking, about.DrunkenKitty said:You're applying logic to opinion and abstract concepts. Keep in mind Machiavelli never ruled anything close to a kingdom and died a miserable lonely fuck.
If you're into Machiavellian concepts, but would like something a bit more practical, read these:
The 48 Laws of Power [http://www.amazon.com/48-Laws-Power-Robert-Greene/dp/0140280197/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234835732&sr=8-1]
The Mystery Method
Be the Person You Want to Be [http://www.amazon.com/Person-You-Want-Neuro-Linguistic-Programming/dp/0761508066/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234835849&sr=1-1]
The Mystery Method has nothing to do with Machiavelli. I can't say for the others, as I haven't read them, but Mystery and Machiavelli have very little in common, except for being very interesting.
You should look into the other two books if you're into The Mystery Method.
The Mystery Method has its roots in NLP and Be the Person You Want to Be is, IMO, the best introductory NLP book.
48 Laws of Power is just amazing. Each law outlines a simple principle regarding influence and is illustrated by a variety of stories, some historical some fictional. I don't agree with it all, but most of it is sound and it's an amazing collection of stories. There's everything from ancient China to Houdini to Aesop's Fables.