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A polymath (Greek: πολυμαθής, polymathēs, "having learned much"), sometimes (if
male) referred to as a Renaissance man, is a person whose expertise spans a
significant number of different subject areas. In less formal terms, a polymath
(or polymathic person) may simply be someone who is very knowledgeable. Most
ancient scientists were polymaths by today's standards. The term was first
used in the seventeenth century but the related term, polyhistor, is an ancient
term with similar meaning.
The concept emerged from the numerous great thinkers of that era who excelled in
multiple fields of the arts and science, including Leonardo da Vinci,
Michelangelo, Galileo Galilei, Nicolaus Copernicus, Francis Bacon and Michael
Servetus. The emergence of these thinkers was attributed to the then rising
notion in Renaissance Italy expressed by one of its most accomplished
representatives, Leon Battista Alberti (1404--1472): that "a man can do all
things if he will." His concept embodied the basic tenets of Renaissance
humanism, which considered humans empowered and limitless in their capacities
for development, and it led to the notion that people should embrace all
knowledge and develop their capacities as fully as possible. The term applies to
the gifted people of the Renaissance who sought to develop skills in all areas
of knowledge, in physical development, in social accomplishments, and in the
arts, in contrast to the vast majority of people of that age, who were not well
educated. This term entered the lexicon during the twentieth century and has
been applied to great thinkers living before and after the Renaissance such as
Su Song, Zhang Heng, Li Shizhen, Shen Kuo, Imhotep, Zhuge Liang, Aristotle,
Avicenna, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Benjamin Franklin, Paul Valéry,Isaac
Newton and John von Neumann. Terms such as polyhistor, polymath or even
universal genius are sometimes employed as synonyms to the term.
Contents
A different term for the secondary meaning of polymath is Renaissance man or
woman (a term first recorded in written English in the early 20th century).
Other similar terms also in use are *** Universalis (Latin) and Uomo Universale
(Italian), which translate to "universal person" or "universal man". These
expressions derived from the ideal in Renaissance Humanism that it was possible
to acquire a universal learning in order to develop one's potential, (covering
both the arts and the sciences and without necessarily restricting this
farewell learning to be the academic fields). When someone is called a
Renaissance man or woman today, it is meant that they do not have only broad
interests or a superficial knowledge of several fields, but rather that their
knowledge is profound and often that they also have proficiency or
accomplishments in at least some of these fields and in some cases even at a
level comparable to the proficiency or the accomplishments of an expert. The
related term Generalist is used to contrast this general approach to knowledge
to that of the specialist. The expression Renaissance person today commonly
implies only intellectual or scholastic proficiency and knowledge and not
necessarily the more universal sense of "learning" implied by Renaissance
humanism. Note, however, that some dictionaries use the term "Renaissance man"
as roughly synonymous with polymath in the first meaning, to describe someone
versatile with many interests or talents, while others recognize a meaning
restricted to the Renaissance era and more closely related to Renaissance ideals.
Hildegard of Bingen, a medieval polymath, shown dictating to her scribe in an
illumination from Liber Scivias
A more colloquial term for such a person would be a jack of all trades, though
this often refers to skill and not necessarily knowledge. The term "jack of all
trades" also occasionally has negative connotation (see, for instance, jack of
all trades, master of none); such a person may be labeled as a dilettante, while
"polymath" typically has a positive connotation.[citation needed]
The term Universal Genius is also used, taking Leonardo da Vinci as a prime
example again. The term seems to be used especially when a person has made
historical or lasting contributions in at least one of the fields in which he
was actively involved, and when he had a universality of approach. Despite the
existence of this term, a polymath may not necessarily be classed as a genius;
and certainly a genius may not display the breadth of knowledge to qualify as a
polymath.[citation needed]
The attribution of having encyclopedic knowledge may also be applied to such
persons exhibiting a vast scope of knowledge. This designation may be
anachronistic, however, in the case of persons such as Eratosthenes whose
reputation for having encyclopedic knowledge pre-dates the existence of any
encyclopedic object.
Renaissance ideal
Many notable polymaths lived during the Renaissance period, a cultural movement
that spanned roughly the 14th through the 17th century, beginning in Italy in
the late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. They had a
rounded approach to education that was typical of the ideals of the humanists of
the time. A gentleman or courtier of that era was expected to speak several
languages, play a musical instrument, write poetry, and so on, thus fulfilling
the Renaissance ideal. The idea of a universal education was pivotal to
achieving polymath ability, hence the word university was used to describe a
seat of learning. At this time universities did not specialize in specific areas,
but rather trained their students in a broad array of science, philosophy and
theology. This universal education, as such, gave them a grounding from which
they could continue into apprenticeship to a Master of a specific field. It is
important to note that a university education was highly regarded. A person was
not considered to need this broad knowledge to apprentice as a carpenter, but to
apprentice in the sciences or philosophy it contributed hugely to their being
able to comprehend the universe as it was understood at the time. During the
Renaissance, Baldassare Castiglione, in his guide The Book of the Courtier,
wrote about how an ideal courtier should have polymathic traits.
"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a
hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a
wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act
alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer,
cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for
insects."
Robert A. Heinlein, Time Enough for Love (1973)
Castiglione's guide stressed the kind of attitude that should accompany the many
talents of a polymath, an attitude he called sprezzatura. A courtier should have
a detached, cool, nonchalant attitude, and speak well, sing, recite poetry, have
proper bearing, be athletic, know the humanities and classics, paint and draw
and possess many other skills, always without showy or boastful behavior, in
short, with "sprezzatura". The many talents of the polymath should appear to
others to be performed without effort, in an unstrained way, almost without
thought. In some ways, the gentlemanly requirements of Castiglione recall the
Chinese sage, Confucius, who far earlier depicted the courtly behavior, piety
and obligations of service required of a gentleman. The easy facility in
difficult tasks also resembles the effortlessness inculcated by Zen, such as in
archery where no conscious attention, but pure spontaneity, produces better and
more noble skill. For Castiglione, the attitude of apparent effortlessness
should accompany great skill in many separate fields. In word or deed the
courtier should "avoid affectation ... (and) ... practice ... a certain
sprezzatura ... conceal all art and make whatever is done or said appear to be
without effort and almost without any thought about it".
This Renaissance ideal differed slightly from the "polymath" in that it involved
more than just intellectual advancement. Historically (roughly 1450--1600) it
represented a person who endeavored to "develop his capacities as fully as
possible" (Britannica, "Renaissance Man") both mentally and physically, and, as
Castiglione suggests, without "affectation". For example, being an
accomplished athlete was considered integral and not separate from education and
learning of the highest order. Leon Battista Alberti, who was a Roman Catholic
priest, architect, painter, poet, scientist, mathematician, inventor, and
sculptor, was in addition a skilled horseman and archer.[citation needed]
Polymath and polyhistor compared
Many dictionaries of word origins list these words as synonyms or as words with
very similar meanings. Thomas Moore took the words as corresponding to similarly
erudite "polys" in one of his poems, The Devil Among Scholars:
Off I fly, careering far In chase of Pollys, prettier far
Than any of their namesakes are —The Polymaths and Polyhistors,
Polyglots and all their sisters.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the words mean practically the same;
"the classical Latin word polyhistor was used exclusively, and the Greek word
frequently, of Alexander Polyhistor", but polymathist appeared later, and then
polymath. Thus today, regardless of any differentiation they may have had when
originally coined, they are often taken to mean the same thing.[citation needed]
The root terms histor and math have similar meanings in their etymological
antecedents (to learn, learned, knowledge), though with some initial and
ancillarily added differing qualities. Innate in historíā (Greek and Latin) is
that the learning takes place via inquiry and narrative. Hístōr also implies
that the polyhistor displays erudition and wisdom. From Proto-Indo-European it
shares a root with the word "wit". Inquiry and narrative are specific sets of
pedagogical and research heuristics.[citation needed]
Polyhistoric is the corresponding adjective. The word polyhistory (meaning
varied learning), when used, is often derogatory.[citation needed]
Other uses of "polymath"
Main article: List of multi-sport athletes
In Britain, phrases such as "polymath sportsman", "sporting polymath", or simply
"polymath" are occasionally used in a restricted sense to refer to athletes who
have performed at a high level in several very different sports, rather than to
those gifted in many fields of study. One whose accomplishments are limited to
athletics would not be considered a "polymath" in the usual sense of the word.
Examples would include:
Howard Baker -- "Similar claims to the title of sporting polymath could be made
for Howard Baker" (who won high jump titles, and played cricket, football, and
water polo).
Maxwell Woosnam -- "Sporting polymath is a full-time post..."
The term can also be used loosely in other curious ways, for example, Rolf
Harris (whose fame has come as a popular artist, television presenter, and
singer) has also been described by the Daily Mail as "the People's Polymath".