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POLYMATH

Renaissance man redirects here. For the 1994 movie, see Renaissance Man.
Leonardo da Vinci is seen as an epitome of the Renaissance man or polymath.
Leonardo da Vinci is seen as an epitome of the Renaissance man or polymath.

A polymath (from the Greek polymathēs, πολυμαθής, meaning "knowing, understanding, or having learnt in quantity," compounded from πολυ- "much, many," and the root μαθ-, meaning "learning, understanding") is a person who excels in multiple fields, particularly in both arts and sciences. The other most common term for this phenomenon is Renaissance man, but also in use are Homo universalis and Uomo universale, which in Latin and Italian, respectively, translate as "universal person" or "universal man".

As informally used in contemporary discussion, a "polymath" is someone known to be skillful or to excel in a broad range of intellectual fields.

"Polymath" is not synonymous with "philomath," a seeker of knowledge; a polymath is someone who is already in possession of great knowledge.

Few people can genuinely be called polymaths. Even fewer can be called a pantomath (from the Greek "panto," meaning "all"). A pantomath is a person whose astonishingly wide interests and knowledge span the entire range of the arts and sciences.

Contents

The Renaissance ideal

Many notable polymaths lived during the European Renaissance period, and a rounded approach to education 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. During the Renaissance, Baldassare Castiglione, in his The Book of the Courtier, wrote a guide to being a polymath.

The Renaissance ideal differs slightly from the "Polymath" in that it involved more than just intellectual advancement. Historically (roughly 1450-1600) it represents a person who endeavors to "develop his capacities as fully as possible" (Britannica, "Renaissance Man") both mentally and physically. Being an accomplished athlete was considered integral and not separate from education and learning of the highest order. Example: Leon Battista Alberti, who was an architect, painter, poet, scientist, mathematician, and was also a skilled horseman.

"Polymath" may be applied more strictly, taking Leonardo da Vinci or Goethe as prime examples, and requiring a universality of approach. A polymath may not necessarily be classed as a genius, which is a related classification; and certainly a genius may not display the breadth of knowledge to qualify as a polymath. Albert Einstein is an example of a person widely viewed as a "genius" but who was not generally considered a polymath.

Although it may be a compliment to be called well-rounded, or a Renaissance man, there is a potentially negative connotation as well: by sacrificing depth for breadth, one can become the "jack of all trades, master of none, though often better than master of one" although da Vinci was considered a master in his fields. Such breadth, of course, makes possible a synthetic comprehension not available to the specialist.

Etymological differentiation between Polymath and Polyhistor

Many dictionaries of word origins list these words as synonyms. Thus today, regardless of any differentiation they may have had when originally coined, they are often taken to mean the same thing (except when used by specialists).

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.

Here are two conceivable definitions of polymath. Firstly, the overt 'greatly learned,' which would be inclusive of polyhistor (though not all polymaths would be polyhistors, all polyhistors would be polymaths). Another definition would include the adjunct of science, with the Greek mathēmatikè téchnē implying that the knowledge and learning are specifically about sciences or have been gained through scientific inquiry or, more broadly, are based in mathematical logic. Science is a somewhat different set of specific research heuristics.

Polymaths

The following people have been described as "polymaths":

  • Aristotle "He was a remarkable polymath. He made major contributions to logic, metaphysics, the natural sciences (above all biology), psychology, ethics, literary criticism..."[2]; "Aristotle was an extraordinary polymath..."[3]
  • Mustafa Kemal Ataturk "Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was a revolutionary statesman, military commander, historian, linguist, philosopher, mathematician, writer with a universal knowledge"[4]
  • Leonardo da Vinci[6] "prodigious polymath.... Painter, sculptor, engineer, astronomer, anatomist, biologist, geologist, physicist, architect, philosopher, humanist."[7]
  • C. B. Fry "Footballer, cricketer, politician and polymath"[8]
  • Johann Wolfgang Goethe "Germany's greatest man of letters—poet, critic, playwright, and novelist—and the last true polymath to walk the earth"[9]
  • Thomas Jefferson; some sources describe him as "polymath and President," putting "polymath" first;[10] John F. Kennedy famously commented, addressing a group of Nobel laureates, that it was "the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered together at the White House—except when Thomas Jefferson dined alone."[11]
  • Mikhail Lomonosov "Lomonosov was a true polymath—physicist, chemist, natural scientist, poet and linguist...."[12]

"Polymath sportsmen"

In Britain, phrases such as "polymath sportsman," "sporting polymath," or simply "polymath" are occasionally used in a restricted sense to refer to athletes that have performed at a high level in several very different sports. (One whose accomplishments are limited to athletics would not be considered to be 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): [14]

Nonstandard usage in commercial product names

Sometimes, the names of commercial products and services use the word "polymath" in a nonstandard way for mathematics-related products and services: "Polymath Software" offers mathematics software, "Polymath Tutoring" tutoring in mathematics, "Polymath Research" is a scientific consulting firm, and so forth. [15]

See also

 Topics in alternative education   (Portal)  

Autodidacticism · Education reform · Gifted education · Homeschooling · Polymath · Religious education · Special education · More...

References

"History", "Mathematics", "Polymath" and "Polyhistor" in one or more of: Chamber's Dictionary of Etymology, The Oxford Dictionary of Word Histories, The Cassell Dictionary of Word Histories

  1. ^ Brand, Peter; Lino Pertile (1999). The Cambridge History of Italian Literature. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-66622-8. "Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472), more versatile than Bruni, is often considered the archetype of the Renaissance polymath." p. 138
  2. ^ Moore, A. W. (2001). The Infinite. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-25285-7. p. 34
  3. ^ Heater, Derek (2004). A Brief History Of Citizenship. New York University Press. ISBN 0-8147-3672-6., "Aristotle was an extraordinary polymath, although only two of his great range of works, which were probably in origin lectures, interest us here."p. 16
  4. ^ Mango, Andrew (2004). Ataturk: The Biography of the founder of Modern Turkey. John Murray. ISBN 0719565928.
  5. ^ Newsome, David (1999). The Victorian World Picture. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-8135-2758-9. "Coleridge was unquestionably a polymath, with a universal knowledge unequalled by any thinker of his day." p. 259
  6. ^ Elmer, Peter; Nicholas Webb, Roberta Wood (2000). The Renaissance in Europe: An Anthology. Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-08222-3. "The following selection... shows why this famous Renaissance polymath considered painting to be a science..."p. 180
  7. ^ Johnston, Robert K.; J Walker Smith (2003). Life Is Not Work, Work Is Not Life: Simple Reminders for Finding Balance in a 24-7 World. Council Oak Books. ISBN 1-885171-54-4. "...the prodigious polymath of the Italian Renaissance. Painter, sculptor, engineer, astronomer, anatomist, biologist, geologist, physicist, architect, philosopher, humanist."p. 1
  8. ^ Steer, Duncan (2003). Cricket: The Golden Age. Cassell illustrated. ISBN 1-64403-237-K. "Footballer, cricketer, politician and polymath C.B. Fry, now commander of a Royal Navy training ship" p.51
  9. ^ Eliot, George [1871] (2004). Gregory Maertz (ed.) Middlemarch. Broadview Press. ISBN 1-55111-233-7. Note by editor of 2004 edition, Gregory Maertz, p. 710
  10. ^ Kennedy, Barbara A. (2006). Inventing the Earth: Ideas on Landscape Development Since 1740. Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 1-4051-0187-3. "Jefferson, Thomas (1743-1826). Polymath and third President of the USA."p. 132
  11. ^ Rees, Nigel (2003). Cassell's Humorous Quotations. Sterling Publishing Company. ISBN 0-304-36588-2. p. 392. Note that Jefferson is identified as "American Polymath and President."
  12. ^ Chorley, Richard J.; Robert P Beckinsale (1991). The History of the Study of Landforms Or the Development of Geomorphology. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-05626- 8.: "Lomonosov was a true polymath—physicist, chemist, natural scientist, poet and linguist...."p. 169
  13. ^ Holloway, Sarah; Stephen Rice, Gill Valentine (2003). Key Concepts in Geography. Sage Publications, Inc.. ISBN 0-7619-7389-3. "The new Enlightment geography was probably best exemplified by Alexander von Humboldt, the Prussian polymath.... An inveterate explorer and a prolific author, von Humboldt was a complex figure: the archetypic modern, rational, and international scientist, his ideas were also shaped by the flowering of European romanticism and German classicism." p. 27
  14. ^ Cox, Richard (2002). Encyclopedia of British Football. Routledge. ISBN 0-7146-5249-0. p. 15
  15. ^ Polymath Software, Polymath Research, Polymath Tutoring

Further reading