Eduardo Kickhofel
Universidade Federal Paulista – Guarulhos, Brasil.
Universidade Federal Paulista
LECTURE: Renaissance Philosophy of Nature and Epilepsy.
In his presentation Eduardo Kickhofel will reflect on the relationship between “art” and “science” so far as it concerns a symposium on neurosciences. He undertakes a historical overview of that relationship, paying particular attention to the sui generis case of Leonardo da Vinci, who very often is regarded as the man who worked on art and science with equal ease.
He then explains why Leonardo´s idea of merging these two forms of knowledge failed, considering the clear-cut distinction between art and science in his time. With this clarification, he explore the matter today.
Eduardo looks, for example, at Raphael’s The Transfiguration, in which the representation of the possessed boy is seen by neuroscientists as indicative of an epileptic seizure. He also looks at the ideas of neuroscientists such as Semir Zeki and Vilayanur Ramachandran, who study particular aspects of brain function and suggest a new merging of art and science.