The irony of reality
The irony of reality is that it is real, says Pico. Pico feels that any valid discussion of the nature of man must begin by addressing the nature of human reality. We live on a planet, in a solar system, orbiting a star in a Milky Way galaxy, and we also pay bills and taxes. Life is both outrageous and unspeakable on earth, and he feels the unspeakable irony of reality is that obviously, it is designed for human appreciation.
The irony of human understanding
The irony of human life is the purpose of basically all human literature, and this is no exception. He pays specific attention to the human ability to learn, to understand and remember knowledge, and the human ability to accomplish great feats through practice. These aspects are ironic, given our animal nature, given the complete absurdity and accidence of human life.
The irony of societal constructs
The irony of constructed social views is that they both help and hurt. Pico's point of view looks forward to a future of amazing discovery and growth. He feels humans are designed to grow and thrive, so society is both supportive and enfranchising, and also, it is ironically limiting and disenfranchising, because a person has to go far past the societal views of their time in order to accomplish something revolutionary.
The irony of God's intention
God's will for creation is puzzling, because the very idea of God seems to imply a state of divine accomplishment, but in Pico's view, the reason God created the humans was to observe his holy reality, so also, God's intention was apparently also to have his powers observed. But, the whole argument seems to be circular and unknowable, so this book takes on a fun, ironic point of view.
The irony of philosophical humility
Although it would be easy to continue listing religious beliefs that are fun or helpful in some way, Pico focuses his attention on philosophy, not religion, to end the book. Philosophical honesty made his point of view more humble when it comes to religious questions, because he realized through the study of philosophy how truly various the human experience is. Many people hold valid beliefs about life, and philosophy makes him humbly consider those. At the same time, he finds that the ultimate philosophical humility is to agree with one's own revelation of truth even when no one around agrees.
