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Pico Della Mirandola Vs Machiavelli Essay

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The views on humanity and human nature of Pico della Mirandola and Machiavelli had both similarities and differences. Pico della Mirandola developed over 900 theses that the pope declared heretical, and as an introduction to these theses, he wrote On the Dignity of Man, where he shares his views on humanity regarding God and the first man. Mirandola begins by stating all the magnificent things that God had created, and the complications of creating man. God then created man, “a creature of undetermined nature, and [placed] him in the middle of the universe.” God then tells Adam “that [he] may have and possess ... whatever place, whatever form, and whatever functions [he] shall desire” and that “[he] who [is] confined by no limits, shall determine for [himself] [his] own nature, in accordance with [his] own free will.” Mirandola believed that we shouldn’t focus on the connection with God that we have lost, yet focus on …show more content…

Machiavelli believes that an effective and successful ruler, must “learn how not to be good” but it is of necessity to appear to have possess qualities of mercy, truth, humanity, integrity and religion. Although to actually possess these qualities is “dangerous,” a ruler must “be able to do evil if constrained” to preserve the state. Machiavelli believed it to be “more proper to go to the real truth of the matter than to its imagination” because we can’t hide the fact that we sinned originally from our reality. He believed we must fully admit the wrongdoings of the past and accept that humanity naturally sins, and with that knowledge we can learn and change. It is pointless to imagine a flawless, idealistic world that never existed because it won’t help us understand the world as it is. He believed that “how [humans] live is so far removed from how we ought to live,” and that does not help us learn and

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1081 Words | 5 Pages

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