Similarities Between Thomas More And Martin Luther

In the early 16th century, many authors began to reestablish fundamental ideas such as religion, law, and human nature. Books and articles were written in order to discuss these ideas and educate the public on the ideas that developed into The Reformation. The two authors mentioned above, Thomas More and Martin Luther, wrote several works in particular that focus on human nature. Determining the definition of human nature is important to discovering how ancient literature views it. More and Luther define two values and mindsets of human nature. The definitions compare and contrast in many ways. Each author, More and Luther, identifies concepts of law, freedom, and and the greater good within their own text. Written in 1516, More unfolds

While ideally seeming like a positive and working society, Utopia has its flaws. In particular, Utopia struggles with the concepts of freedom, greed, and depravity. These issues are subsets of human nature and humanism. Throughout Utopia, More touches on humanism by providing examples of thievery and greed. Acting as himself in order to communicate the ideas of Utopia, More talks about a chain reaction linking soldiers to thievery, claiming they are not responsible, due to not knowing how to associate back into society. More also discusses the initial good in individuals, providing proof that More supports the concept of ultimately “good” human beings. An example of this opinion is found in Book 2, when stated “No living creature is naturally greedy, except from fear of want – or in the case of human beings, form vanity, the

Each chose to discuss this topic in different ways; More with a fictional example and Luther applying it to everyday life. While very different, a similarity between these two can be found in the concept of freedom. More approaches the concept of human nature, saying each individual does good to contribute to the community or greater good. More discusses the the good within individuals, yet admits that he doesn’t foresee this happening. He states, “Unless kings became philosophers themselves they would never accept the counsels of philosophers, seeing that they are warped and corrupted by false values from childhood” (More, Utopia, 43) Where does freedom fall into this equation? Luther struggles with a similar issue. To Luther, we are free to God, but enslaved in “neighbor love.” Both authors struggle with concept of individual freedom. Do individuals have a say so within government? Where does divine appointment come into play? More and Luther similarly struggle with the idea of freedom and how freedom contributes to human