The Oration of the Dignity of Man

1. According to Pico's statements, what is the dignity of man?
I was a little confused about the usage of the word dignity in this excerpt. The dictionary defines dignity as "The presence of poise and self-respect in one's deportment to a degree that inspires respect." Using this definition, I think that Pico says that the dignity of man is being able to ponder God's work and wonder at the world's vastness. After God had built the universe, He wanted someone to love it's beauty, and therefore created man for this purpose. I also think that Pico said that the dignity of man is the ability to make choices, and be whatever you choose to be. Pico says that God said to Adam that, "Thou mayest have and posses what abode, what form, and what functions thou thyself shalt desire. The nature of all beings is limited...Thou, constrained by no limits,...shalt ordain for thyself the limits of thy nature." So man has the ability to choose what he will become.

2. How can Pico's ideal of man's dignity relate to the life of a high school student?
In high school, we have the chance to ask questions, and find out more about history, the universe, and "God's beauty", therefore we are pondering God's work as mentioned above. High school is also a time for us to make choices, choices about what we want to do in life, as well as who we want to become. We have no limits on what we want to become, only the limits of our interests, which are not limits at all. That ability to be whatever we want is also the dignity of man.