Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.21464/mo.32.62.3
The spirits of the Renaissance and the young Marx
Luka Bogdanić
; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb, Croatia
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* Corresponding author.
Abstract
The article examines the influence of Renaissance humanism, particularly Pico della Mirandola’s Oratio de hominis dignitate, on young Marx’s intellectual formation. Through analysis of Marx’s 1835 graduation essay Reflections of a Young Man on the Choice of a Profession the study shows how Marx at the time was inspired by Pico’s concept of human being as a being without predetermined essence. The study traces this anti-essentialist conception through Marx’s later works and discusses whether there is continuity in Marx’s position up to the Economic-Philosophical Manuscripts (1844), or even in later texts. The author argues that understanding this Renaissance heritage helps clarify Marx position, especially the young Marx, on humanism and human nature. At the same time, the paper shows how the dynamic conception of human being as a potentially universal being can help to understand not only Marx’s conception of alienation but also his mature critique of capitalism.
Keywords
Renaissance; Karl Marx; anti-essentialism; Pico della Mirandola; humanism
Hrčak ID:
346032
URI
Publication date:
7.4.2026.
Visits: 212 *