The Renaissance Man is Dying

As the rebirth of ideas known as the Renaissance swept across Europe between the 14th and 17th centuries, much contemplation was put into how men and women should be living their lives. The humanists started conversations that led men to believe that humanity itself is what made us as individuals special. But what does the ideal human look like?

The Courtier - Castiglione

In answering this questions, we see a major theme of the Renaissance known as Sprezzatura – the readiness to say or do the right thing in a social setting. The ancient Greeks taught that a man should be "well-rounded," or of a developed personality. The Italian diplomat, Castiglione, added a Renaissance flair to these Greek ideas in his work known as The Courtier. Castiglione enlightens his readers by describing the perfect courtier as one who, "must vary out life with different occupations." The courtier must know how to speak eloquently, have a deep understanding of the humanities, be a skilled writer, a talented musician, an artist, and an entertaining host. That is an intimidating amount of skills and qualities for just one man, but if one wished to be well-rounded and respected as a Renaissance Man, that is what was necessary. But where do we find Renaissance Men today?



We can talk all day of Leonardo da Vinci or Benjamin Franklin and their carious contributions to multiple disciplines of intellectualism but vary rarely can we pick out their modern-day counterparts. In contemporary college-level education, students are expected to choose a particular area of study and spend a majority of their undergraduate education focused on this one area. It is true that many universities brag that they provided their students a multi-disciplinary education by forcing them to take a certain number of credits from a range of different subjects. However, in my experience as undergraduate student, none of these general classes are taken as seriously as classes that will progress us in our majors among my classmates and myself.

Data from EMSI

I have found that a lot of societal pressure is steering me away from receiving a well-rounded education. Many urge me to focus my studies on a field that will be most practical in finding a career, and the arts and humanities are often ignored as a result of this. I argue that these pressures have pushed my peers and I away from training ourselves to be well-rounded by forcing us to become knowledgable in only one field of learning. If only students could be provided with educations that teach them to be well-rounded courtiers, a new generation of respectable Renaissance Men and Women could rise once again!