Is it time for a second Renaissance?

The Middle Ages were a prolonged period of socio-cultural darkness in Europe. The continent saw multiple wars, famine, death, disease and religious bigotry. But the age of reason began with the Renaissance, a word that itself means rebirth. Renaissance, a movement by Italian artists in Florence, was the turning point in European history and served as a bridge between the Middle Ages and modern history. It encouraged critical thinking, the examination and understanding of man instead of God. Slowly there was a revival in the sciences with new inventions and discoveries in the fields of physics, chemistry, astronomy, geography and medicine. Western philosophy was being reshaped with greater emphasis on the individual as opposed to the collectivist societies of the east. This is what set the foundation for the dawn of the modern age.

Dark Ages of the 21st century

Today, political leaders occupying the most powerful offices and their dedicated army of trolls are busy bullying movie stars and journalists on Twitter. There is a large scale 'othering' of people in a world that is rapidly embracing an 'us versus them' culture. Brexit, the cold-blooded killing of people of minorities from certain races, ethnicities and sexualities, and the rise of the extreme-right are examples of a socio-cultural rock-bottom. Perhaps we need a second Renaissance.

Jerry Johnson, an Objectivist and expert in organizational culture development says, "The first Renaissance took place because people were hungry for information that was being controlled by a few men. It happened when knowledge was democratized. But we need a second Renaissance now because there is just too much information and most of it comes from questionable or unverifiable sources, leading people to outsource their thinking to God men and demagogues who specialize in spouting over-simplified but memorable sound-bites." This is why people's passions can be easily riled and can be drummed up into a frenzy that both, feeds on and spews hate.

Trading reason for faith

Imagine refusing to tolerate being called intolerant by claiming to be the most tolerant. Or worse, exchanging words and blows over something someone painted, wore, said or ate. This is happening all around us. Bangalore based rationalist, author and media studies scholar, Ketan Vaidya says we have abandoned reason because we are being sold a great product… religion, that offers solutions in exchange for unquestioning faith. He explains, "Religion was packaged, positioned, targeted, scaled, advertised and sold like soap. God men have hence become more relatable than God himself. We are living in a consumerist society and the sane and intelligent can draw parallels between a consumerist society and consumers seeking religious belief systems through the merchants of faith."

Second-hand thinking

While it is not necessary to abandon religion, given how it is a source of comfort for people in trying times, we need to ask ourselves why we let other people do our thinking. Is it because sometimes we just don't have the time? Is it because we lack the intellectual ability or is it because we are just lazy and it takes effort to process information and examine it from all angles? Also, if we are to have a second Renaissance where and how will it begin?

Dawn of a Renaissance

Perhaps the rebirth has already started here in India, with the groundwork once again being laid by the creatively inclined. These are individuals who feel stifled by nationalist ideas being forced down their throats, by people in power who refuse to recognize the heterogeneity of Indian culture. These are film-makers, painters and musicians who want to tell stories about hate and bigotry, farmer suicides, about persecution of homosexuals and dalits, child sexual abuse or something simple like cast an actor from across the border. There is an increasing effort to bring perspective and steer national mainstream discourse in a positive and productive direction. Many of these Renaissance men and women, are conveniently labelled as 'leftists' or 'anti-nationals' and rarely find enough takers for their art to remain economically viable. Others have had to broker deals with extreme right-wing elements, just so their art can see the light of day.

Starting at the roots

Maybe we need a Renaissance in Indian classrooms, to encourage children to think critically and allow them to question everything including religion, culture and social structure. "Today we see wet robots or flesh and blood drones being manufactured in our schools and colleges. They can and will be eventually replaced with machines," says Johnson. He wonders why liberal arts are looked down upon and why literature or sociology graduates find it so hard to get jobs. "At the end of the day, people matter. And that is why we need multi-disciplinary training for all job profiles. A mix of science, liberal arts and commerce would create people who will always be employable because they actually understand human beings instead of just being glorified calculators," explains Johnson. We too can contribute to this second Renaissance in the offing with a little introspection, after all the greatest journeys begin within.