In celebration of 500 Years of Leonardo da Vinci, Italian Embassy Cultural Centre, Mumbai and Avid Learning present Leonardo daVinci: The Intersection of Philosophy and Science, a panel discussion that examines the influence and implications of Leonardo da Vinci’s contributions to the Humanities and Science within a contemporary purview, while examining his prolific experimentation and dissolving of the boundaries between the binaries of art and science. 

Author Ashish Jaiswal, Director General, Nehru Science Centre, Mumbai Dr. Shivaprasad Khened and Member, New Acropolis, School of Philosophy and Managing Trustee, the Swades Foundation Zarina Screwvala will be in conversation with Co-Founder and Head of Research at Live History India Akshay Chavan.

This panel of experts will shed light on the role and significance of Da Vinci’s inventions, calculations and research, works of art, scientific experimentation and writings in the context of today, with the intention of recognizing the manner in which his work lives on in an evergreen fashion, retaining its importance and impact. This talk will explore key facets on how to develop the approach of bringing together philosophical, creative and scientific thinking by delving into his life and work, and better understanding his achievements, inspirations and influences. 

Having conceptualized scientific ideas, such as the helicopter and solar power, that were centuries ahead of their time, the brilliance of Da Vinciholds much value in critiquing the self-imposed limits of the human mind while questing for solutions to the problems of today. As a scientist and engineer, Da Vinci’s inventions stand firm against time despite being created in a period that hadn’t developed the mathematical and scientific knowledge that are commonplace today. Though Da Vinci lacked a formal scientific education, leading the people of his time to overlook his scientific prowess, Da Vinci demonstrated the significance of curiosity and the practical application of ideas, unearthing discoveries through vigorous experimentation and challenging the widespread belief of the conventional nature and understanding of the discipline of science. This panel will examine how Da Vinci’s mechanical experimentations, anatomical and medical research and other scientific innovations hold currency today. His scientific legacy is incomparable, ranging from the astonishing accuracy of his anatomical sketches to recent research further pointing atDa Vinci being a pioneer in field of palaeontology. His exploratory drawings and research also were key in developing contact lenses, artificial limbs, synthetic organs and surgical robots. 

Da Vinci’s philosophical quests were made through painting. His pursuit of Beauty and Wisdom motivated a vast investigation that included such diverse genres as art, music, engineering, botany, philosophy, etc. In every area of his work, it is evident that he strove to bridge the connect between the earthly and the archetypal. This panel will examine the significance of Da Vinci’s philosophical musings and boundless creativity.

An exemplary illustration of the bridging of diverse disciplines can be observed in Da Vinci’s prime work The Vitruvian Man, a creation of art that concurrently investigated the concept of proportion as a mathematical diagram demonstrated how a multitude of fields can be brought in together and connected across a single spectrum. Da Vinci’s art relied on his studies in perspective, proportion, light and optics that lent his works their aesthetic magnitude. His knowledge and experience of sculpting aided in his experimentation toward bodily anatomy as seen in the plaster casts that he created through the insertion of wax into organs that helped deepen the elaborate understanding of anatomy and led to notable discoveries in neuroanatomy. Da Vinci additionally explored the natural world, sketching and studying birds, animals, rocks, fossils, plants among others. His comprehension of proportion can be traced to nature seen through mathematical concepts of the Fibonacci sequence and Golden Ratio that are expressed abundantly in natural surroundings. 

This panel discussion will aim to understand and appreciate the scope of this great thinker’s prolific body of work and explore the implications of his inventions and achievements through a modern lens while examining its practical applications in contemporary life. 

Join us as we bring this quintessential Renaissance Man to life and learn through his eclectic and comparative approach, how to engage with our world on the brink, problem-solve and perhaps bring about a contemporary Renaissance in our own times!