Polymathy consists of advanced knowledge of several subjects.
The Greek word polymathía came to our language as polymatía . This is what the knowledge of someone who has advanced knowledge on multiple issues is called.
Comprehensive training
Whoever has polymathy is a polymath . These individuals, thanks to their studies and experiences, have instruction in different sciences and arts , thus providing them with comprehensive training .
Polymathy is associated with wisdom that encompasses different disciplines. That is why polymathy can also be related to erudition .
The polymath is usually described as a “Renaissance man” , taking into account the variety of knowledge that the main thinkers of the Renaissance handled. The emblem of this qualification is the Italian Leonardo da Vinci , a prominent plastic artist, writer, philosopher, engineer, architect, anatomist and inventor who made countless contributions to numerous fields.
Beyond individual qualities, in ancient times most intellectuals were polymaths. This is due to the type of training they received and the social customs of the time. Furthermore, there was a belief in the unlimited potential of the human being .
Polymathy today
Today, polymathy is rare. Specialization is considered to be a very important value and that is why people tend to focus on a few issues that they try to develop to the maximum. A lawyer is more likely to seek a master's degree or doctorate in some branch of law than to pursue a new career to also become an engineer or a doctor, to name one possibility. The labor market, in fact, demands specialists and not polymaths.
The barrier posed by the need to specialize is important, but not insurmountable. The problem can be analyzed from two perspectives: volume of knowledge and time required to acquire it . A doctor of the 15th century did not have to his credit the number of concepts that are fundamental for current medicine. And this difference does not only cover issues related to anatomy, biology and diseases, but also the preparation to use certain clinical tools that did not exist centuries ago.
But the amount of knowledge to be learned is not a determining factor in the possibility of studying two or more degrees, since our brain has a much greater capacity than what we use throughout our entire life; The real wall to travel such an arduous path is the time it requires, a treasure that very few people have, and among them only an extremely small percentage has the mental faculties and the interest to become a polymath.
Hildegard of Bingen
In the year 1098, Hildegard of Bingen was born in the Holy Roman Empire . She was a true polymath, whose knowledge covered writing, musical composition, philosophy, naturalism, medicine and other sciences, as well as mysticism, among other fields. Beyond her name, she is known as the Teutonic prophetess and the Sibyl of the Rhine .
Today polymathy is less common, and specialization is more valued.
Regarding his musical legacy, his sacred monophonies stand out, compositions that had a single melodic line and did not use accompaniment . She is also considered the absolute pioneer of natural history , a group of scientific disciplines that are also called natural sciences , where we find geology, mineralogy, botany and zoology, among others.
In the field of literature, he wrote some of the most important liturgical dramas , a genre that emerged in Europe at the end of the 9th century. Her intellectual gifts placed her well above average , but she did not become one of the most influential and cultured people of the Late Middle Ages simply because of her innate abilities, but rather because of her peculiar dedication to learning different subjects and her passion for artistic creation.