近年來，德國移民美國的思想史學者Paul Oskar Kristeller對文藝復興人文學的詮釋受到許多反省，檢視的重點在於他對人文學的詮釋與近代初期歐洲公民社會產生的歷史背景脫離，轉而與中古法國宮廷文化結合。透過這個聯結，「文藝復興」與「中古」的關係不再是斷裂、而是延續；但這個結合卻也讓「文藝復興人文學」究竟有多「文藝復興」成為一大問題。本文透過追溯Jacob Burckhardt與Kristeller如何論述「誰不是文藝復興人文學者?」這個問題，探討在文藝復興文化史研究上，何以「人文學」與「人文學者」這兩個概念不是被賦予完全正面的價值，語意內涵也帶著精神境界有限性的隱喻。透過這些解析，本文將闡述何以對“humanism”的討論會在二十一世紀初期重新成為文藝復興研究的焦點？對文藝復興研究整體而論，重新檢視文藝復興與人文學、人文學者之間的關係，意義究竟何在？

This paper aims to clarify why Paul Oskar Kristeller’s discourse on Renaissance humanism has been challenged in recent Renaissance scholarship. By comparing Kristeller’s theses with those of Georg Voigt and Jacob Burckhardt separately, the first part of this paper focuses on how Kristeller initiated a “humanistic turn” in the Renaissance studies after his emigration to the USA. Subsequently, this paper examines the reason why Kristeller put the Burckhardtian question: “Who should not be counted as Renaissance humanists?” as his major concern to distinguish Renaissance “humanists” from “philosophers.” The final part of this paper discusses how to modify Kristeller’s one-sided definitions of the Renaissance humanists and humanism by understanding the difficulties in interpreting the so-called “key points” in the manifest historical turns as continuities, breakthroughs, or transitions.