For thousands of years, philosophers and others have been asking questions such as, What is a just society? What is virtue? What is a virtuous life? What is the good life? What is the source of happiness? What, even, is real? Who are we? Where did we come from, where are we now, and where are we going? More importantly, what direction do we want to go? None of these questions can be properly answered without serious reflection, and generally, without some considerable study – and study that is both broad and deep. Our contemporary, late industrial, technology-obsessed and entertainment-obsessed 21st century society has enormous technical power, but is highly fragmented, divided; and some would say, including myself, that it is profoundly lost, deluded, and deeply confused – and as a result, profoundly alienated, physically and psychologically deeply unwell, homicidal, genocidal, ecocidal, and suicidal. Re-thinking education is one major part of remedying our global, national, local, and personal dilemmas – and by that, I mean life-long education, or life-long learning, which every intelligent or thoughtful person should seek, and do.
Specialist thinking is like a laser beam. It is a very useful mode of thinking, and can help us a great deal. But if a laser is our only tool for illuminating the interior of a dark and unlit mansion, then our vision, and our knowledge and understanding of that mansion, will be severely limited.
Alan Watts used this analogy of the laser beam versus the floodlight, and it is an excellent one for distinguishing two very different types or modes of knowledge, perception and understanding.
Molecular biochemistry, or genetics, for example, can tell us a great deal. But if all we can see are molecules, chemicals and genes, then our knowledge, understanding, and view, of human beings will be tragically and dangerously misinformed and misshapen. We need to look at epigenetics, mind-body science, ecology, psychology and sociology, systems theory, and holistic or integrative health science, as well as history, anthropology and political-economy, physics and philosophy, if we want to truly understand human beings, either collectively, or as individuals. We have become obsessed with the dust speck on the microscope lens, while peering at a single piece of bark, from a single tree, from a single species.
“Forest? What is this, “Forest”, you speak of?”
The generalist knows how to find the light switch, to illuminate an entire room at a time. This is also helpful. But we should remember that the generalists’ light is generally pale and dim – we can see more broadly, but more dimly. That is why the laser beam of the specialist, and the dim overhead light of the generalist, work well together.
The generalists are the glue. Things fall apart without them. Or better said, the generalists are the universal translators (a la Star Trek). Without the generalists, the specialists cannot even speak to one another, but are locked within the narrow tunnels of their fields, with each burrow speaking in their own language – which is often utterly unintelligible to specialists in other tunnels, burrows, or fields.
The generalists allow the specialists to talk to one another, and thus to work together as a team. More importantly, or at least as importantly, they allow the specialists to talk to the general public – including politicians, administrators, and business managers – so that the specialists can be understood; and conversely, so that the specialists can understand what the public, the government agency, the organization or business, wants or needs. The generalists’ role is therefore crucial. We have made the specialists into celebrities – at least in some fields – but have forgotten the value of the generalists. This must change.
But then there is the polymath, who – if he or she has developed to a high degree, their breadth, depth, and precision, in their view (vision, knowledge or understanding, that is) – can turn on a brilliantly illuminating overhead light, illuminating everything in vivid clarity; and can also utilize the laser beam for further depth and detail, whenever it is needed.
The polymath may not have the depth or precision of detail of the specialist, in some cases – though, often their depth and precision are superior to that of many specialists, if not most; but in any case, it is the combined clarity of both breadth and depth, which neither the specialist nor the generalist can provide, which is extremely valuable.
These three distinct modes of thinking, or roles, are all valuable. What our society perhaps needs most, if we are to have a new Renaissance, or if we are to resolve our very serious social and ecological problems, and to survive at all, is the remembrance, or the realization, that all three modes, or roles, are extremely important.
*
Specialists, generalists and polymaths should be distinguished, first of all, and clarified further, lest all things be as clear as mud. The specialist is narrowly focused, but has depth of knowledge; the generalist has broad but more superficial knowledge, and has a small amount of knowledge in several fields – and thus, can help the various specialists understand one another, and communicate and work together better; but the polymath has both breadth and depth, and has depth of knowledge in a number of fields.
Human society needs all three. Both specialists and polymaths are needed in society, as are generalists. True polymaths are rare, and very lacking, and that is one reason why our society is floundering in many seemingly intractable problems. Again, what is important here is that true polymaths have both depth and breadth of vision, and as such, can see both the big picture, and the details.
There could be said to be two kinds of renaissance women and men. The first is the generalist. The second, and more rare, is the polymath.
Examples of Renaissance men and women, in the second sense, of true polymaths, include Da Vinci, of course, who is almost the prototype, along with contemporaries such as Ken Wilber, Joanna Macy, David C. Korten, and a handful of others. It is not that polymaths are always right – and I can guarantee, they are not. They are certainly not omniscient, nor infallible. What makes them important contributors to our global village discourse and society is that they can not only connect several disparate realms of knowledge, in intelligent or even brilliantly novel and helpful ways, but that they have some greater capacity to understand and communicate the bigger picture. And this is perhaps what we are lacking the most.
That big picture thinking is what is critically lacking in our 21st century world, and without it, our future is dire. There are better and worse big picture thinkers in the world today, but what is most critical, is that we begin to listen to them, and give their thoughts and ideas the weight they deserve – which we can only assess if we actually listen, and give them the time, and give ourselves the time, to hear, and reflect, on what they have to say.
*
We are dangerously short on true polymaths today. I would not, however, say that being a polymath is best for everyone, nor necessary, nor useful. I think it is a better idea to promote a broad education, or what has been called a liberal education – including, I would urge, music, the arts, science, math, ecology, health, geography, literature, reading, writing, speaking, critical media studies (now essential in our increasingly Orwellian world), history, social sciences, cooking and gardening (yes, these are important life skills, and life experiences), philosophy, logic or informal reasoning, world cultures, world religions and mythology (group these last three together, ideally) and athletics; and with that foundation, and hopefully with a well-rounded life, and a well-rounded individual, then the person can choose an area of focus or specialization, if they wish.
Ideally, we get a well-rounded education first, then choose a path of career training or specialization – and we do not confuse the one with the other. Both are highly valuable.
A broad and well-rounded education provides a critically important breadth of knowledge, and at least some capacity for big picture thinking; and it also opens doors and vistas of opportunity, as well as bringing adaptability and resilience, to the individual, their community, the nation, and the world. But while that is important, there is nothing wrong with finding a passion and pouring thousands of hours into that chosen area – provided the well-rounded education, and the well-rounded person, are not lost in the process.
Our society, if it is to become more enlightened, or even to survive, must now re-think everything; and we must come to recognize the value of the specialist, as well as the generalist, and also, the polymath.
The valuing of a well-rounded education, and well-rounded individuals, or Renaissance men and women, is something we also urgently need. Both the fragmentation of knowledge, and the hyper-specialization that conjoins it, and which together have been the emphasis of our late-modern society, has had, and continues to have, many deeply negative, and also very dangerous effects: sociologically, psychologically, politically, economically, ecologically, spiritually, and in terms of human physical and mental health.
We don’t need to dispense with specialists – that would be foolish – but we do need to remember the tremendous value that generalists and polymaths bring; and even more importantly, we need to remember the tremendous value of a well-rounded education, and of becoming well-rounded individuals. In that sense, it would be good if we all became Renaissance women and men. The new Renaissance needs us. And the Renaissance is now.
J. Todd Ring,
January 30, 2021
See my up-coming essay, The Renaissance: Then and Now, on WordPress and Minds; and my book, Enlightened Democracy: Visions For A New Millennium
This entry was posted on January 30, 2021 at 6:33 pm and is filed under Uncategorized with tags education, pedagogy, philosophy, philosophy of education, political philosophy, renaissance, Renaissance Man, social commentary, social philosophy, social psychology, social theory, sociology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Writings of J. Todd Ring
The New Renaissance Women and Men
For thousands of years, philosophers and others have been asking questions such as, What is a just society? What is virtue? What is a virtuous life? What is the good life? What is the source of happiness? What, even, is real? Who are we? Where did we come from, where are we now, and where are we going? More importantly, what direction do we want to go? None of these questions can be properly answered without serious reflection, and generally, without some considerable study – and study that is both broad and deep. Our contemporary, late industrial, technology-obsessed and entertainment-obsessed 21st century society has enormous technical power, but is highly fragmented, divided; and some would say, including myself, that it is profoundly lost, deluded, and deeply confused – and as a result, profoundly alienated, physically and psychologically deeply unwell, homicidal, genocidal, ecocidal, and suicidal. Re-thinking education is one major part of remedying our global, national, local, and personal dilemmas – and by that, I mean life-long education, or life-long learning, which every intelligent or thoughtful person should seek, and do.
Specialist thinking is like a laser beam. It is a very useful mode of thinking, and can help us a great deal. But if a laser is our only tool for illuminating the interior of a dark and unlit mansion, then our vision, and our knowledge and understanding of that mansion, will be severely limited.
Alan Watts used this analogy of the laser beam versus the floodlight, and it is an excellent one for distinguishing two very different types or modes of knowledge, perception and understanding.
Molecular biochemistry, or genetics, for example, can tell us a great deal. But if all we can see are molecules, chemicals and genes, then our knowledge, understanding, and view, of human beings will be tragically and dangerously misinformed and misshapen. We need to look at epigenetics, mind-body science, ecology, psychology and sociology, systems theory, and holistic or integrative health science, as well as history, anthropology and political-economy, physics and philosophy, if we want to truly understand human beings, either collectively, or as individuals. We have become obsessed with the dust speck on the microscope lens, while peering at a single piece of bark, from a single tree, from a single species.
“Forest? What is this, “Forest”, you speak of?”
The generalist knows how to find the light switch, to illuminate an entire room at a time. This is also helpful. But we should remember that the generalists’ light is generally pale and dim – we can see more broadly, but more dimly. That is why the laser beam of the specialist, and the dim overhead light of the generalist, work well together.
The generalists are the glue. Things fall apart without them. Or better said, the generalists are the universal translators (a la Star Trek). Without the generalists, the specialists cannot even speak to one another, but are locked within the narrow tunnels of their fields, with each burrow speaking in their own language – which is often utterly unintelligible to specialists in other tunnels, burrows, or fields.
The generalists allow the specialists to talk to one another, and thus to work together as a team. More importantly, or at least as importantly, they allow the specialists to talk to the general public – including politicians, administrators, and business managers – so that the specialists can be understood; and conversely, so that the specialists can understand what the public, the government agency, the organization or business, wants or needs. The generalists’ role is therefore crucial. We have made the specialists into celebrities – at least in some fields – but have forgotten the value of the generalists. This must change.
But then there is the polymath, who – if he or she has developed to a high degree, their breadth, depth, and precision, in their view (vision, knowledge or understanding, that is) – can turn on a brilliantly illuminating overhead light, illuminating everything in vivid clarity; and can also utilize the laser beam for further depth and detail, whenever it is needed.
The polymath may not have the depth or precision of detail of the specialist, in some cases – though, often their depth and precision are superior to that of many specialists, if not most; but in any case, it is the combined clarity of both breadth and depth, which neither the specialist nor the generalist can provide, which is extremely valuable.
These three distinct modes of thinking, or roles, are all valuable. What our society perhaps needs most, if we are to have a new Renaissance, or if we are to resolve our very serious social and ecological problems, and to survive at all, is the remembrance, or the realization, that all three modes, or roles, are extremely important.
*
Specialists, generalists and polymaths should be distinguished, first of all, and clarified further, lest all things be as clear as mud. The specialist is narrowly focused, but has depth of knowledge; the generalist has broad but more superficial knowledge, and has a small amount of knowledge in several fields – and thus, can help the various specialists understand one another, and communicate and work together better; but the polymath has both breadth and depth, and has depth of knowledge in a number of fields.
Human society needs all three. Both specialists and polymaths are needed in society, as are generalists. True polymaths are rare, and very lacking, and that is one reason why our society is floundering in many seemingly intractable problems. Again, what is important here is that true polymaths have both depth and breadth of vision, and as such, can see both the big picture, and the details.
There could be said to be two kinds of renaissance women and men. The first is the generalist. The second, and more rare, is the polymath.
Examples of Renaissance men and women, in the second sense, of true polymaths, include Da Vinci, of course, who is almost the prototype, along with contemporaries such as Ken Wilber, Joanna Macy, David C. Korten, and a handful of others. It is not that polymaths are always right – and I can guarantee, they are not. They are certainly not omniscient, nor infallible. What makes them important contributors to our global village discourse and society is that they can not only connect several disparate realms of knowledge, in intelligent or even brilliantly novel and helpful ways, but that they have some greater capacity to understand and communicate the bigger picture. And this is perhaps what we are lacking the most.
That big picture thinking is what is critically lacking in our 21st century world, and without it, our future is dire. There are better and worse big picture thinkers in the world today, but what is most critical, is that we begin to listen to them, and give their thoughts and ideas the weight they deserve – which we can only assess if we actually listen, and give them the time, and give ourselves the time, to hear, and reflect, on what they have to say.
*
We are dangerously short on true polymaths today. I would not, however, say that being a polymath is best for everyone, nor necessary, nor useful. I think it is a better idea to promote a broad education, or what has been called a liberal education – including, I would urge, music, the arts, science, math, ecology, health, geography, literature, reading, writing, speaking, critical media studies (now essential in our increasingly Orwellian world), history, social sciences, cooking and gardening (yes, these are important life skills, and life experiences), philosophy, logic or informal reasoning, world cultures, world religions and mythology (group these last three together, ideally) and athletics; and with that foundation, and hopefully with a well-rounded life, and a well-rounded individual, then the person can choose an area of focus or specialization, if they wish.
Ideally, we get a well-rounded education first, then choose a path of career training or specialization – and we do not confuse the one with the other. Both are highly valuable.
A broad and well-rounded education provides a critically important breadth of knowledge, and at least some capacity for big picture thinking; and it also opens doors and vistas of opportunity, as well as bringing adaptability and resilience, to the individual, their community, the nation, and the world. But while that is important, there is nothing wrong with finding a passion and pouring thousands of hours into that chosen area – provided the well-rounded education, and the well-rounded person, are not lost in the process.
Our society, if it is to become more enlightened, or even to survive, must now re-think everything; and we must come to recognize the value of the specialist, as well as the generalist, and also, the polymath.
The valuing of a well-rounded education, and well-rounded individuals, or Renaissance men and women, is something we also urgently need. Both the fragmentation of knowledge, and the hyper-specialization that conjoins it, and which together have been the emphasis of our late-modern society, has had, and continues to have, many deeply negative, and also very dangerous effects: sociologically, psychologically, politically, economically, ecologically, spiritually, and in terms of human physical and mental health.
We don’t need to dispense with specialists – that would be foolish – but we do need to remember the tremendous value that generalists and polymaths bring; and even more importantly, we need to remember the tremendous value of a well-rounded education, and of becoming well-rounded individuals. In that sense, it would be good if we all became Renaissance women and men. The new Renaissance needs us. And the Renaissance is now.
J. Todd Ring,
January 30, 2021
See my up-coming essay, The Renaissance: Then and Now, on WordPress and Minds; and my book, Enlightened Democracy: Visions For A New Millennium
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This entry was posted on January 30, 2021 at 6:33 pm and is filed under Uncategorized with tags education, pedagogy, philosophy, philosophy of education, political philosophy, renaissance, Renaissance Man, social commentary, social philosophy, social psychology, social theory, sociology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.