Polymath

Leonardo da Vinci, a polymath, is seen as the epitome of the Renaissance Man

A polymath (Greek polymathēs, πολυμαθής, meaning "having learned much"), Renaissance man or Homo universalis are common terms to describe a person well educated, or who excels, in a wide variety of subjects or fields. Polymaths also are described as persons with encyclopedic, broad, or varied knowledge or learning. The term is used rarely enough to be included in dictionaries of obscure words.

Dictionary definitions are consistent with informal use, according to which someone very knowledgeable is described as a polymath (when used as a noun) or polymath or polymathic (when used as adjectives), especially if the person's knowledge is not restricted to one subject area.

A polymath may be a person who knows a great deal about several fields of study, a person who has proficiency and competence in multiple fields, or even a person who has excelled in multiple fields.

Related terms

A different term for the second meaning is Renaissance man (a term first recorded in written English in the early twentieth century), and also in use are Homo universalis and Uomo Universale, which in Latin and Italian, respectively, translate as "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 learning to the academic fields). When someone is called a Renaissance man today, it is meant that he does not just have broad interests or a superficial knowledge of several fields, but better that his knowledge is rather profound, and often that he also has 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 man today commonly implies only intellectual or scholastic proficiency and knowledge and not necessarily the more universal sense of "learning" implied by the Renaissance Humanism). It is important to note, however, that some dictionaries use the term Renaissance man as roughly synonym of polymath in the first meaning, to describe someone versatile with many interests or talents, while others recognize a meaning which is restricted to the Renaissance era and more closely related to the Renaissance ideals.

The term Universal genius is also used, taking Leonardo da Vinci as a prime example. The term seems to be used especially when a Renaissance man 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. Albert Einstein is an example of a person widely viewed as a "genius" but who is not generally considered a polymath.

Hildegard of Bingen, a medieval polymath, shown dictating to her scribe in an illumination from Liber Scivias

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 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. 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 also a skilled horseman.

Renaissance ideal today

During the Renaissance, the ideal of Renaissance humanism may often include to acquire almost all available important knowledge, and since knowledge was limited, several universal geniuses seem to have come close to that ideal, with actual achievements in multiple fields. With the passage of time, universal learning began to appear ever more self-contradictory. For example, a famous dispute between "Jacob Burckhardt (whose Die Kultur der Renaissance in Italien of 1860 established Alberti as the prototype of the Renaissance Man) and Julius von Schlosser (whose Die Kunstliteratur of 1924 expresses discontent with Burckhardt's assessments on several counts)" deals with the issue of whether Alberti was indeed a dilettante or an actual Universal Man; while an 1863 article about rhetoric said, for instance: "an universal genius is not likely to attain to distinction and to eminence in any thing [ sic ]. To achieve her best results, and to produce her most matured fruit, Genius must bend all her energies in one direction; strive for one object; keep her brain and hand upon one desired purpose and aim".

Today, since it is considered extremely difficult to genuinely acquire an encyclopaedic knowledge, and even more to be proficient in several fields at the level of an expert (see expertise about research in this area), not to mention to achieve excellence or recognition in multiple fields, the word polymath, in both senses, may also be used, often ironically, with a potentially negative connotation as well. Under this connotation, by sacrificing depth for breadth, the polymath becomes a "jack of all trades, master of none." For many specialists, in the context of today's hyperspecialization, the ideal of a Renaissance man is judged to be an anachronism, since it is not uncommon that a specialist can barely dominate the accumulated knowledge of more than just one restricted subfield in his whole life, and many renowned experts have been made famous only for dominating different subfields or traditions or for being able to integrate the knowledge of different subfields or traditions.

In addition, today, expertise is often associated with documents, certifications, diplomas, and degrees attributing to such and a person who seems to have an abundance of these is often perceived as having more education than practical "working" experience.

However, those supporting the ideal of the Renaissance man today would say that the specialist's understanding of the interrelation of knowledge from different fields is too narrow and that a synthetic comprehension of different fields is unavailable to him, or, if they embrace the Renaissance ideal even more deeply, that the human development of the specialist is truncated by the narrowness of his view. What is much more common today than the universal approach to knowledge from a single polymath, is the multidisciplinary approach to knowledge which derives from several experts in different fields.

Polymath and polyhistor

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 "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.

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.

Polyhistoric is the corresponding adjective. The word polyhistory (meaning varied learning), when used, is often derogatory.

Some Renaissance Men

The following list provides examples of notable polymaths (in the second meaning only, that is, Renaissance men). Caution is necessary when interpreting the word polymath (in the second meaning or any of its synonyms) in a source, since there's always ambiguity of what the word denotes. Also, when a list of subjects in relation to the polymath is given, such lists often seem to imply that the notable polymath was reputable in all fields, but the most common case is that the polymath made his reputation in one or two main fields where he had widely recognized achievements, and that he was merely proficient or actively involved in other fields, but, once again, not necessarily with achievements comparable to those of renowned experts of his time in these fields. The list does not attempt to be comprehensive or authoritative in any way.

The following people represent prime examples of "renaissance men" and "universal geniuses," so to say "polymaths" in the strictest second meaning of the word.

• Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) "prodigious polymath.... Painter, sculptor, engineer, astronomer, anatomist, biologist, geologist, physicist, architect, philosopher, humanist." "Leonardo may be described as the most Universal Genius of Christian Times." "He was a universal genius whose outlines can only be surmised, -never defined"". "In Leonardo da Vinci, of course, he had as his subject not just an ordinary Italian painter, but the prototype of the universal genius, the "Renaissance man," ..."

• Gottfried Leibniz (1646-1716) "Leibniz was a polymath who made significant contributions in many areas of physics, logic, history, librarianship, and of course philosophy and theology, while also working on ideal languages, mechanical clocks, mining machinery..." "A universal genius if ever there was one, and an inexhaustible source of original and fertile ideas, Leibniz was all the more interested in logic because it ..." "Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz was maybe the last Universal Genius incessantly active in the fields of theology, philosophy, mathematics, physics, ...." "Leibniz was perhaps the last great Renaissance man who in Bacon's words took all knowledge to be his province."

• Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) "Germany's greatest man of letters—poet, critic, playwright, and novelist—and the last true polymath to walk the earth" "Goethe comes as close to deserving the title of a universal genius as any man who has ever lived". "He was essentially the last great European Renaissance man"

Polymaths

The following people have been described as "polymaths" by several sources, although there may not be expert consensus that they are prime examples of "polymaths" in the strictest second meaning (as "renaissance men" and "universal geniuses").

• Aristotle (384–322 B.C.E.); "He was a remarkable polymath. He made major contributions to logic, metaphysics, the natural sciences (above all biology), psychology, ethics, literary criticism.."; "Aristotle was an extraordinary polymath..."

• Archimedes (287–212 B.C.E.), a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and philosopher; he is widely regarded as one of the most important scientists in classical antiquity.

• Geber (721-815 C.E.), an Arab chemist, alchemist, astrologer, astronomer, engineer, pharmacist, philosopher, physician, and physicist; "Jābir was a polymath who wrote 300 books on philosophy, 1,300 books on mechanical devices and military machinery, and hundreds of books on alchemy."

• Al-Kindi (Alkindus) (801-873), an Arab astronomer, geographer, mathematician, meteorologist, musician, philosopher, physician, physicist, politician, and scientist; "he (Al-Kindî) was an omnivorous polymath, studying everything, writing 265 treatises about everything—arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, meteorology, geography, physics, politics, music, medicine, philosophy."

• Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) (965-1039), an Iraqi anatomist, astronomer, engineer, mathematician, ophthalmologist, physician, physicist, psychologist, and scientist; "a devout, brilliant polymath".

• Abū Rayhān al-Bīrūnī (973-1048), a Persian anthropologist, astronomer, astrologer, encyclopedist, geodesist, geographer, geologist, historian, mathematician, natural historian, pharmacist, philosopher, physicist, scholar, teacher, and traveller; "al-Biruni was a polymath and traveler (to India), making contributions in mathematics, geography and geology, natural history, calendars and astronomy."

• Abhinavagupta (fl. 975-1025), an Indian philosopher, literary critic, Shaivite, aesthetist, musician, poet, dramatist, dancer, exegetical theologian, and logician; "the great Kashmiri philosopher and polymath, Abhinavagupta".

• Avicenna (980-1037), a Persian physician, philosopher, scientist, metaphysicist, and universalist; "The Persian polymath-physician Avicenna".

• Shen Kuo (1031–1095), a Chinese scientist, statesman, mathematician, astronomer, meteorologist, geologist, zoologist, botanist, pharmacologist, ethnographer, poet, general, diplomat, hydraulic engineer, inventor, academy chancellor, finance minister, and inspector; "Chinese polymath and astronomer who studied medicine, but became renown for his engineering ability."

• Omar Khayyám (1048-1131), a Persian poet, astronomer, mathematician, philosopher, skeptic, and writer; "a wine- and woman-loving Persian poet and polymath".

• Acharya Hemachandra (1089-1172), an Indian scholar, poet, linguist, grammarian, philosopher, prosodist, and historian; "the great polymath Hemacandra."

• Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), a medieval German woman, has often been described as a polymath. She was a German magistra and abbess and recognized as an artist, author, counselor, dramatist, linguist, natural historian, philosopher, physician, poet, political consultant, visionary, and a composer of music that remains of interest today. One of her works, performed as a play is considered a precursor that led to opera.

• Averroes (1126-1198), an Andalusian-Arab philosopher, physician, lawyer, mathematician, doctor, and theologan; "Ibn-Rushd, a polymath also known as Averroes".

• Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406), an Arab historian, historiographer, demographer, economist, linguist, philosopher, philosopher of history, and sociologist; "a still-influential polymath."

• Leone Battista Alberti (1404–1472), "often considered the archetype of the Renaissance polymath"

• Samuel Taylor Coleridge (poet, critic, and philosopher), poet, critic, and philosopher

• Benjamin Franklin "The ultimate creole intellectual... A true polymath of the Enlightenment style, he distinguished himself on both sides of the Atlantic by researches in natural sciences as well as politics and literature."

• Alexander von Humboldt Humboldt's quantitative work on botanical geography was foundational to the field of biogeography. An inveterate explorer and a prolific author, von Humboldt was a complex figure: the archetypic modern, rational, and international scientist.

• Thomas Jefferson; some sources describe him as "polymath and President," putting "polymath" first; 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."

• Athanasius Kircher: "a 'polymath' if there ever was one. He studied a variety of subjects including... music, Egyptology, Sinology, botany, magnetism"; Athanasius Kircher: The Last Man Who Knew Everything (book title)

• Mikhail Lomonosov "Lomonosov was a true polymath—physicist, chemist, natural scientist, poet and linguist...."

• John von Neumann: Physicist, mathematician, contributions to game theory, economics, pioneering computer scientist. "It isn't often that the human race produces a polymath like von Neumann, then sets him to work in the middle of the biggest crisis in human history..." "Other luminaries would follow Einstein to New Jersey, including the dazzling Hungarian polymath, John von Neumann..."

• Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: Incalculable contributions to the areas of German literature and natural sciences. He is credited with discovery of a bone in the human jaw, and proposed a theory of colours.

• Thomas Young British polymath, scientist and Egyptologist, after whom Young's modulus, Young's double-slit experiment, the Young-Laplace equation and the Young-Dupré equation were named. He also studied vision and coined the term Indo-European languages.

• Blaise Pascal: he was a mathematician, philosopher and theologian.

• Richard Posner: Law professor, federal judge, philosopher, economist, writer and/or critic of literature, law, philosophy, sexual mores, national defense, and popular culture. "Richard Posner is a polymath, a one-man think tank, the grown-up version of the kid who always sat in the front row and knew the answer to the teacher's questions. Officially, he is a federal judge, but that's just his day job. What he really aspires to be, as his hyperactive career at the University of Chicago Law School suggests, is king of the public intellectuals."

• José Rizal): "Jose Rizal, the 19th-century polymath celebrated as the father of Philippine independence..."

• Herbert Simon: "Simon is a very distinguished polymath, famous for work in psychology and computer science, philosophy of science, a leader in artificial intelligence, and a Nobel Prize winner in Economics."

• Mary Somerville: "Somerville was the most celebrated woman scientist of her time. A polymath, she wrote on astronomy, mathematics, physics, chemistry, mineralogy, and geology, among other subjects."

• Joseph Pomeroy Widney, '[i]n a similarly polymathic vein, Joseph Widney was an early president of the University of Southern California...." (Mike Davis, City of Quartz: Excavating the Future in Los Angeles (Vintage: 1992).

• Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), a Bengali Indian polymath; "He was a polymath: a poet, fiction writer, dramatist, painter, educator, political thinker, philosopher of science."

• H. G. Wells "Fifty years ago, the British polymath and amateur historian was able to compress the history of the world up to 1920 into one volume..."

• Mustafa Kemal Ataturk "Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was a revolutionary statesman, military commander, philosopher, mathematician, writer with a universal knowledge"

"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:

• C. B. Fry "Footballer, cricketer, politician and polymath"
• 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..."
• Jim Thorpe - Olympic gold medalist in the pentathlon and decathlon, starred in college and professional football, played Major League Baseball and basketball.
• Babe Didrikson Zaharias - American athlete considered to be perhaps the greatest all-around female athlete of all time. She achieved outstanding success in golf, basketball and track and field.
• Moe Berg
• Bo Jackson
• Lionel Conacher - named Canada's Greatest Male Athlete of the Half-Century (1950), he excelled in baseball, boxing and wrestling and is a member of the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame, the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and the Hockey Hall of Fame. He later became a politician and was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and the Canadian House of Commons.

Fictional polymaths

• Mycroft Holmes - archetypal polymath
• Mister Peabody - cartoon polymath
• Batman - Superhero crimefighter is known to have a wide knowledge of various areas of studies and topics.
• Artemis Fowl II - A criminal mastermind and, intellectually, a child prodigy.
• James Bond - spy polymath
• Captain Nemo - engineer polymath

Further reading

• Polymath: A Renaissance Man
• "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

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

• Polymath  ^history

The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia:

• History of "Polymath"

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.