Luther and Pico on Human Nature, Free Will, and Faith

Introduction: A Shared Dualistic Vision

Both Luther and Pico believe that human nature is duplicitous and binary, and that human beings have the ability to choose between two poles. Those two poles are framed similarly by both thinkers: a human being is at once body or animal and spirit or soul. In Concerning Christian Liberty, Martin Luther claims that human beings have a dual nature comprised of the body and the soul. In the Oration, Pico states that human beings exist between two worlds — the divine and the mundane. The goal of human life, for both thinkers, is to reach the highest potential of human nature, which means aspiring toward God.

Luther and Pico differ regarding their suggested methods by which a human being aspires toward God, but not in a fundamentally irreconcilable way. For Luther, a human being need only have faith in Jesus. Pico believes a human being does need faith as well, but primarily faith in his or her own potential. Therefore, both Pico and Luther share a similar view on human nature and human abilities while differing slightly with regard to the overall purpose of life.

The Binary Structure of Human Nature

For both Luther and Pico, human nature is dualistic, and human beings are pulled in two different directions. Both thinkers believe that the base instincts of human beings may tend toward carnal pleasures — pleasures that, in turn, represent evil for Luther or irrationality for Pico. Notably, Pico does not frame carnal desires in moral terms as Luther does. Unlike Luther, Pico does not invoke the concept of "evil" in his Oration, whereas evil is a central issue for Luther. For Luther, the two directions in which human beings are pulled are toward faith and toward sin, with the greatest sin being the absence of faith. Pico's vision of human dualism falls more between ignorance and enlightenment, or irrationality versus reason.

Luther and Pico both believe that human nature is generally universal — that people from different backgrounds share the same nature, tendencies, and desires — and that each person possesses free will. Free will creates the appearance of differing natures, but the underlying structure remains the same. Human nature is not inherently good or evil but is predisposed toward both. Luther, however, seems to believe that human beings are more easily swayed by the temptations of the flesh than by the pleasures of the spirit. Pico is more optimistic, believing that people are inspired by heavenly things and are therefore equally capable of good as of evil.

Free Will and the Role of Reason

Human reason plays a more important role in Pico della Mirandola's account of free will, but Luther also acknowledges the power and function of reason in encouraging a person to have faith in God. For Luther, the choice to have faith and love God is itself a reasonable choice — he uses the word "reason" when urging the reader to have faith and serve God. Likewise, for Pico, the choice toward higher aspirations is a reasonable one. Pico relates reason to "intelligence," which is part of the higher human nature; intelligence, in his view, is a form of godliness.

Yet Pico also claims that the human being must ultimately transcend reason "through dialectic." Reason is the process by which a human being becomes more godlike: "If he cultivates his rational seeds, he will become a heavenly animal." Luther, by contrast, believes there are limitations to human reason and that faith provides the only true key to salvation. Both philosophers therefore value reason, but Pico assigns it a more central and sustained role. For Luther, faith — not reason — is the exercise of the highest in human nature.

Works Cited

Luther, M. Concerning Christian Liberty.

Pico della Mirandola. Oration on the Dignity of Man.