A Scholar between Versatility and Specialization. Review of the Book by Peter Burke “The Polymath: A Cultural History from Leonardo da Vinci to Susan Sontag”

Abstract

The book by the famous British mediaevalist Peter Burke is perhaps the first detailed historical study of the phenomenon of versatile giftedness. The review notes the importance of the monograph. P. Burke has collected unique historical material about researchers of different centuries, who had wide interests and worked in interdisciplinary directions. It is shown that the information crises that have arisen in society throughout history were changing the practice of interaction between generalists and narrow scholars. An important observation about the convergence of the roles of polymaths and specialists in the course of scientific and technological development of society is made. The book is addressed to all those interested in the general history of science and the social history of the scientific community.