Giovanni Pico della Mirandola and Astrology (1486–1493): From Scientia Naturalis to the Disputationes adversus astrologiam

Abstract

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE astrological ideas of Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463–94) still remains one of the most intriguing aspects of his legacy. Although Pico explicitly dedicated only his last philosophical treatise, the Disputationes adversus astrologiam divinatricem (1493–94), to the study of astrology, his views on the subject can be found in nearly all his texts. The current article aims to show the evolution of Pico’s philosophical outlook from 1486 to 1493, the year in which he started writing the Disputationes. This focus on Giovanni Pico’s astrological views will illustrate the development of his itinéraire philosophique from early Neoplatonic writings and ambitious theological projects to the later biblical commentaries. While at an early stage of his career Pico was fascinated by recently discovered sources such as the Kabbalah, Plato, and Neoplatonic writings as a means of interpreting astrology, he would eventually deviate from them. Between 1489 and 1491 he posited for the first time the question of the communication of two essential as-