Giovanni Pico della Mirandola
Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (/ˈpiːkoʊ ˌdɛlə mɪˈrændələ, -ˈrɑːn-/ PEE-koh DEL-ə mirr-A(H)N-də-lə,[1][2] Italian: [dʒoˈvanni ˈpiːko della miˈrandola]; Latin: Johannes Picus de Mirandula; 24 February 1463 – 17 November 1494) was an Italian Renaissance nobleman and philosopher.[3] He is famed for the events of 1486, when, at the age of 23, he proposed to defend 900 theses on religion, philosophy, natural philosophy, and magic against all comers, for which he wrote the Oration on the Dignity of Man, which has been called the "Manifesto of the Renaissance",[4] and a key text of Renaissance humanism and of what has been called the "Hermetic Reformation".[5] He was the founder of the tradition of Christian Kabbalah, a key tenet of early modern Western esotericism. The 900 Theses was the first printed book to be universally banned by the Church.[6] Pico is sometimes seen as a proto-Protestant, because his 900 theses anticipated many Protestant views.[7]
Pico della Mirandola | |
|---|---|
 Portrait from the Uffizi Gallery, in Florence | |
| Born | 24 February 1463 |
| Died | 17 November 1494 (aged 31) |
| Education | University of Bologna, University of Ferrara, University of Padua, University of Paris |
| Era | Renaissance philosophy |
| Region | Western philosophy |
| School | Renaissance philosophy Christian humanism Neoplatonism |
Main interests | Politics, history, religion, esotericism |
Influenced | |