Giovanni Pico della Mirandola

The above text may be an accurate representation of how I personally understand the Renaissance-era philosophy of Pico della Mirandola (1463-1493). Though sometimes categorized as a Neoplatonist, Pico's solution to the problem of One and the Many may only be fully understood by recognizing the influence that Aristotelian, Scholastic, Arabic, and Kabbalistic ideas had on his philosophy. Similar to 15th-century Florentine Humanists' attempts of applying their love of antiquity to contemporary moral problems, Pico created a synthesis of seemingly incompatible systems, as evident in the methodology employed to write his 900 Theses, as well as the posthumously-titled Oration on the Dignity of Man, which is a defense of the fore-mentioned Theses.

The solution postulated by Pico was revolutionary: instead of following the Neoplatonist belief that Being (the many) is an imperfect representation of the One (which was seen as God in the Renaissance Christian context), or that a separation exists between the two only in the human mind (an Aristotelian mind/body dualistic notion), Pico advanced the idea that Being is a material emanation of the One. This can be seen as a philosophical foundation to Pico's Oration, where because Being (people, for example) are a symbol of God, just their participation in the world may be seen as evidence of Divine Grace and Truth.

These ideas formed sharp contrast to the scholastics' (namely Thomas) approaches to the One and the Many, where it was formulated that Being is primarily defined by what is was not (i.e. God). Pico's ideas have been said to be a exemplar of Renaissance philosophy: bridging a gap between all schools of thought to form a new way of thinking about the capabilities and nature of man. What I've been thinking is how Pico may have informed Giorgio Vasari's belief that artists' creations are a mirror for Divine Creation (so a visual manifestation of Truth). I guess I'll keep researching and see what else I can find...

Above is a portrait of Pico, looking like the lead singer of Megadeth...