Pico Della Mirandolla (1463 – 1494)

philosophers before him believed that there is a natural hierarchy of things e.g. rock - plants - animals - man - angels - God, and the purpose of things is defined in relation to where it resides on this scale. But Pico does not believe that man's place on the scale is a fixed one. for him, God had filled all the points along the scale with other creatures before creating man.When he eventually created man, he gave him the freedom to choose his spot on the scale. Thus, man can either degenerate to the nature of lower animals or advance to the divine nature of angels (probably through abstenance and contemplation). Hence, for Pico, what makes man special is his freedom to choose his destiny.