The Renaissance Man Essay Example

The Renaissance Man Essay Example The Renaissance Man Essay The Renaissance Man Essay Tianna Woodson Mr. Kasik AP Language and Composition 25 September 2012 Many say that God is perfect, and if we are created in His image, aren’t we too, perfect? Since men have become literate there has been a debate about man’s true nature. Whether or not we are born pure, our true potential, and ideas about what a â€Å"good† man is have constantly been altered as men have evolved, learned, and even barbarized. Philosophers in the late 1400’s like Marsilio Ficino and Pico della Mirandola had their own ideas on what a real â€Å"Renaissance Man† was. Their radical ideas that men were born perfect, that we were created to rule the Earth like a god, and have the ability to become divine shook the foundation of the idea of the Renaissance man in the 1400’s. Pico della Mirandola was a philosopher in the 1400’s who believed that men had the power to choose their own destiny, no matter what their birth origins were or whether or not they were wealthy. The basis of his writing Oration of the Dignity of Man was that man can be whatever he wants; whether it is good and pure or bad and hellish. He tells us that our creator taught us, during our hour of creation, that we â€Å"shall have the power to degenerate into the lower forms of life which are savage. And you shall have the power, through reflection of your soul, to be reborn into the higher forms, which are divine†. Mirandola stressed that men were unbound in their abilities; that the power of free will was an absolute right to man. Using his idea that we are â€Å"constrained by no limits† he tried to encourage men to become divine by reaching out and grasping their potential. A Renaissance man, as defined by Pico della Mirandola, is a man that acknowledges his potential to be anything he wishes, and then uses that potential to achieve higher or lower statuses as he sees fit. Marsilio Ficino is much more specific when he describes a Renaissance man. He taught that not only do men have the power to become perfect, but that a true Renaissance man will strive to become divine like our creator. In his writing, The Soul of Man, he stresses the idea that â€Å"Man is the vicar of God† because man rules the Earth like God rules the heavens. Man’s natural nature, as defined by Ficino, is to control everything around him; from the animals, to the tools he uses, to the environment, and â€Å"He who governs the body in so many ways and so important ways is the vicar of the immortal God, he is no doubt immortal†. He also believes that we rule the Earth in the name of our Creator, that we do â€Å"everything for God’s sake†. In Ficino’s eyes, a true Renaissance man is a man who not only acknowledges his ability to become perfect but uses it to be so for their God. Ficino and Mirandola agreed on two attributes that a Renaissance man has. This trait is one they both agree that men ordain from God; that all men are born perfect. Mirandola believes that we are perfect simply because of our freedom. That we are â€Å"most fortunate creatures and therefore worthy of all admiration and given the highest rank in the universal chain of Being†. Mirandola believes that because of the freedom our Creator bestows upon us that we are all born free and worthy of praise. Ficino’s model of a Renaissance man is perfect because of what he does. Any man that controls his environment so efficiently like men do is perfect to Ficino. Man alone abounds such a perfection† simply because we control the aspects of our lives, which apparently animals and other â€Å"Beings† cannot. According to Mirandola and Ficino, a Renaissance man is perfect from the time he is created to the time he dies because of his freedom bestowed by God and because of his ability to control the things around him. The reason our Creator puts us here has always been a topic of discussion but even more of a debate has been how we can become what we were meant to be, how we can rise to our full potential. Both Mirandola and Ficino have opposing and agreeing views on the idea of a â€Å"perfect† man. Mirandola focuses on man’s potential, his ability be bad or good and using it to be so. Ficino says that the Renaissance man is perfect because he is the â€Å"vicar of God†; he uses what our Creator gave us to control that which is around him. They both think that a true Renaissance man is someone who is spiritually perfect, though for different reasons. The idea of a Renaissance man was influenced greatly by them in the 1400’s