How to Be a Renaissance Thinker

The concept of a Renaissance thinker is of someone who is well rounded in a number of subjects, and is a holistic thinker because of their ability to work across boundaries and in many different fields, and understand the links and connections between various disciplines.

The ideal of the Renaissance person comes from the period of time from the fourteenth through seventeenth centuries known as the Renaissance, which was an era that experienced an impressive flowering of knowledge and culture. Historically, the Renaissance is connected to the Age of Enlightenment, or Age of Reason, which occurred in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

The Age of Enlightenment was a time in which enlightenment thinkers advocated political, cultural and social movements that did not center around authoritarian institutions such as the Church and State, but instead around greater rights for the common people. This was the era in which the seeds of democracy were sown, and with it, the understanding that everyone was born with the inalienable right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Leonardo da Vinci - Renaissance Visionary Genius

One of the hallmarks of the Renaissance was an educational approach that emphasized the full development of a person’s mental and physical capacities and equally stressed the arts and sciences. Art and science were not seen as mutually exclusive disciplines and instead were understood to have a symbiotic relationship. Thus a typical Renaissance education might include instruction in several languages, playing a musical instrument, writing poetry, painting, architecture, mastering various branches of science and excelling in sports.

This was an epoch that emphasized the cultivation of human potential, and as a result many great thinkers lived during the Renaissance and the ensuing Age of Enlightenment. These were multi-disciplinarians who were great artists, scientists, activists, philosophers and writers, and contributed greatly through their works and deeds to the betterment of humankind. Because of their willingness to reject dogma, not accept things at face value and to persistently seek the truth, these people were able to use the full power of the mind and body.

Here is a list of great thinkers from over the last seven centuries.

While the list you read at the above link is definitely not comprehensive for every free and enlightened thinker who has made an indelible mark over the last seven centuries, everyone on the list has had a profound impact in one way or another on the world. The people mentioned also are shining examples of what we all are capable of and what we can become.

Click here to read the list of great thinkers

After you have finished reading through the list, here is the challenge: add your name to the list, and with it, your accomplishments.

If you don’t feel like your accomplishments amount to much, then promise yourself from this day forward that your goal and mission in life is to live a life rich in accomplishments, both big and small.

For inspiration, study the list and decide who are the people on it you feel most attracted to. Once you have determined that, let their vision become your vision from this day forward.

The list begins with people of the Renaissance, and then continues with individuals from the Age of Enlightenment. It concludes with modern times and the present day—showing that in our modern age, the Renaissance thinker still exists.

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