Tell Me Of The Young Man, Verrocchio

Who was Leonardo Da Vinci, not as an idea but, as a person with a personal philosophy?
Photo by Damiano Baschiera on Unsplash

We must doubt the certainty of everything which passes through the senses, but how much more ought we to doubt things contrary to the senses, such as the existence of God and the soul.

- Leonardo Da Vinci 

I have been having some preliminary thoughts about the Renaissance Humanism painter-philosopher, Leonardo Da Vinci, as in percolating about the ways in which to approach the subject matter. 

Often, he gets called the Rennaissance Man or the Universal Genius due to the ubiquity of both his expertise and domains of deep knowledge. In some manner, Da Vinci was a pervasive intellect.

Someone who, whatever he touched, he mastered. Someone of a brilliance rarely seen in the modern period in which specialization is the flavor of the day, not universality.

In this sense, there is a general sensibility of awe, about him, and distance, from the philosophy behind him. When I examine his words, and I look at some of the life trajectories, I note several indicative points of caution.

Not only a beautiful man, a bright person, and an inquisitive sensitivity to the natural world, someone conscious of the ways in which the Church, as in the Roman Catholic Church, dominated, domineered, and crushed all dissent with force, even by torture or murder by the 'state' or the Church arm.

He was cautious in statements, even in scientific discoveries as the Church was a force for ignorance and suffering, as today, by and large. He kept statements at odds of the Church away from the public, so the hierarchs. 

He wasn't polite; he was political. Leo was a genius. Few doubt it. Near as I can tell, fewer questions exist about the man's life than about his philosophical views. He seems as if a scientist, an engineer, a technologist. 

Someone interested in the natural world as the natural world with observation as key to the comprehension of the world, where the senses cannot provide a definitive answer to the vexing questions of the day.

There can be approximations. There can be estimations. There can be grasping some order of the truth, as in the facts of the matter about reality. However, the sense of the self and its senses reign supreme to Leonardo.

Someone distinctly aware of the limitations of the faith structures in his midst. In his notebooks, thus tucked away, he proclaimed in capital letters, "IL SOLE NO SI MUOVE," or, "THE SUN DOES NOT MOVE." 

In short, decades before the official finding, he deduced the heliocentric reality of the Solar System rather than the biblically asserted geocentric view of the Solar System.  

This contradicted centuries of biblical teaching and Church authority. Therefore, he put the text in his notebooks, never discovered until after death, presumably, as a monument to both his genius and his caution. 

He considers the state of nature as the state of nature itself. In that, a collection of physical laws manifest and order the universe and living systems. He dissected corpses, incorporated findings of anatomy and physiology in drawings and artistic works. 

He had a sense of the real. He had a compassion for the living, even releasing some animals in captivity if he passed them by paying for their fee. He was someone in love with life and in love with the discoveries about the natural world.

In this sense, as an amorist, as in amour, or love, he was a lover of nature and the real human nature, not the statements of holy texts or the authorities of the men in dresses in Rome. 

He died in France. Someone in what has been termed Renaissance Humanism. Something of an amorist-naturalist and a humanist in a full sense of the term without religious connotations or transcendentalist sensibilities.

Someone for whom the natural world is that which is, sufficiently ordered, and reason as a guide to order the thoughts about the world gathered and organized through the senses. 

He would be a rare individual, even today, as a naturalistic thinker, comprehensive in the dimensionality of considerations about the world, and oriented towards the use of proper reason to come to some truths about reality at large.

In short, a man of reality and virtue.

Opinions and Perspectives

I'm fascinated by Da Vinci's courage to write 'THE SUN DOES NOT MOVE' in his notebooks, even if he couldn't share it publicly. Really shows how far ahead of his time he was.

What strikes me most is his compassion for animals. Paying to free caged creatures while also being a scientist who dissected bodies shows such an interesting duality in his character.

The article mentions he was politically cautious rather than polite. I think that's such an important distinction when we look at historical figures. He wasn't submissive to the Church, just strategic.

Anyone else find it ironic that the Church, which claimed to seek truth, was actually suppressing it? Da Vinci had to hide his scientific discoveries in private notebooks.

I wonder what Da Vinci would think of our modern world where we can freely share scientific discoveries. Would he be amazed or disappointed we're still dealing with science denial?

The part about him being an amorist really resonated with me. His love for nature and reality feels so pure compared to the institutional dogma of his time.

We often hear about his art and inventions, but I never knew about his philosophical views on the senses and reality. This article really opened my eyes to a different side of him.

True, but let's not forget the Church also supported many artists and scientists during the Renaissance. It's more complex than just saying they were against progress.

I disagree. The evidence clearly shows they suppressed scientific truth that contradicted scripture. Da Vinci having to hide his discoveries is proof enough.

The article paints him as almost modern in his thinking. Makes me wonder how many other Renaissance figures were secretly more progressive than we know.

His dedication to observation and the natural world feels very scientific method to me, even before it was formally established.

Can we talk about how he figured out heliocentrism decades before others? That's mind-blowing! And he couldn't even publish it.

I've studied Renaissance art for years and never knew about him freeing caged animals. These personal details make him feel so much more human.

Not sure I agree with the article's take on him being completely non-religious. Many Renaissance figures balanced scientific thought with faith.

Let's be real though, those notebooks were probably kept private for good reason. The Church wasn't exactly gentle with heretics.

What I find fascinating is how he used his artistic skills to document his scientific observations. Art and science weren't separate for him.

Makes me sad thinking about all the scientific progress we lost because of religious suppression. Who knows what else Da Vinci discovered but couldn't share?

I appreciate how the article shows his practical wisdom in navigating dangerous political waters while still pursuing truth.

His approach to learning everything deeply is so different from our modern specialized education system.

The part about him loving life and reality without needing supernatural explanations really speaks to me.

Anyone else think it's beautiful how he combined reason with observation? Not just theoretical but practical too.

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