The Renaissance Man

The Renaissance marked the rebirth of the people’s intellectual consciousness. During this time, man was inclined towards thinking. The age of the Renaissance was particularly known for its philosophies and ideas, rather than its technological, scientific, or mechanical breakthroughs. This is evident through the emergence of the great thinkers such as Machiavelli, Erasmus, Descartes, etc.

Aristotle described man as a rational and a political animal. Being above the other animals, he is a key player in history. Man being a rational being signifies that he possesses intellect and will, which go along with his acquired nature since birth. It is innate for man to have the faculty to continually seek for knowledge and improve himself and his environment. However, as man becomes overwhelmed by the knowledge that he acquires, he has the tendency to be corrupted, as the saying goes, too much of something is bad. This excessive and unending quest for knowledge may lead him to his own downfall. Attainment of wisdom became the main concern of the people. They did not find fulfillment in filling their nation with skyscrapers, nor in hastening the invention of modern machineries. Instead, they devoted their lives in seeking for more and more knowledge. Renaissance thinkers depict man as rational and ethical being who tends to become consumed by his quest for wisdom and perfection, leading him to lose himself and make him no different from the brutes, which he is supposed to be above of.

The great Erasmus in his work “The Praise of Folly” describes how man is blinded by the apparent good – wisdom.

..In this way, studies crept in with the other trials of life, for the hurt of mankind. Instead of promoting man’s happiness, they hinder it. This is shown by their name: “daemons,” which means “those who know..” (Erasmus 932)

As philosophy teaches, man’s actions are controlled by two abilities or powers: emotion and reason. “Indeed a fool and a wise man are distinguished by the fact that emotions control the former, and reason the latter.” (Erasmus 929) During the Renaissance, the “wise” claimed emotions belong only to those who are foolish, while what should really control mankind was reason. Erasmus contradicted this by saying that “true wisdom” which the “wise” claim to be the secret to happiness can never be acquired. Instead, it is the emotion that serves as a guide and a teacher to those who seek wisdom, for it is a stimulus to virtues and good deeds. (Erasmus 929) Consequently, if the “wise man” is to be stripped of all his emotions, he then becomes nothing but an imitation of man.