CA2

Science & Leonardo Da Vinci, Ralph Davis, Chautauqua Program

June 19 – 21, 2008 at CSUDH, Carson, CA (Los Angeles area) 

Course Fee $100                                             

“Nothing can be found in nature that is not part of science.”  Leonardo da Vinci’s words remind us that history is a lens through which to look at both ourselves and our times. Artist, engineer, experimenter and arguably, the first scientist, Leonardo is a bridge from Aristotle, Galen, Vitruvius and the medieval thinkers to the full-blown scientific personages of Galileo and Newton.  From his reflections on force, inertia, impetus, the motion of waves, the nature of light, vision, the rules of perspective, and his exceptional illustrations of anatomical exploration and nature, to his “machines of mass destruction,” camera obscura, flying machines, parachutes, water pumps, and optical devices, it is clear that he is a person of not only marvelous intellectual flexibility and originality, but a practical genius as well, able to build, model and test.  By examining how science emerged from the shadow of both ancient authorities and the church in Leonardo’s time, we will visit many of the issues that affect us today:  how science negotiates politics, patronage, finance and religion.  We will compare the Renaissance’s intellectually nourishing atmosphere to our own scientific climate and evaluate the concept of a “golden age.”  Although his position in conventional histories of scientific discovery is open to discussion, there can be little doubt that he was one of the clearest examples of human genius.  And whether it be Freud’s imaginative psychoanalytical claims of Leonardo’s sublimated sexual energies, the conscription of Leonardo into the ranks of occult pulp fiction with Dan Brown’s The da Vinci Code, or  Bill Gates’ purchase of the Codex Leicester for a staggering 36 million dollars, it can be seen that the image of the scientific hero is alive and well. Drawing on recent historical scholarship, the cognitive sciences and evolutionary psychology, we will examine this image, explore our envy of the Renaissance man, and reflect on the role of Leonardo in both his own time and ours – all the while gathering a rich assortment of historical facts, cultural perspectives, stories, anecdotes, analogies, and illustrations of a remarkable individual suitable for immediate classroom use in the sciences and other disciplines.

For Teachers at two and Four year institiutions, graduate students, and secondary teachers. Prerequisites: None

RALPH DAVIS has been a facilitator for a number of Chautauquas including The Creative Process in Science & Art, The Limits of Science, Paradox and Genius.  He edited Leadership and Institutional Renewal and has taught philosophy at Albion College where he was Prentiss M. Brown Distinguished Honors Professor and directed the Basic Ideas interdisciplinary program, the Honors Program and chaired the Department of Philosophy.