The Seeds of "da Vinci Science" Have Been Sown




HARASHIMA Hiroshi@The University of Tokyo


I dream about the birth of a new type of science called "da Vinci science." Of course, "da Vinci" refers to Leonardo da Vinci ("Leonardo of Vinci town"), the great scientist of the Renaissance.

Da Vinci was a person of many talents. His interests spanned many fields and he was a leading expert in most if not all of them. He was a person who believed in the inseparability of science and art.

Today, however, science and technology are very specialized. One could say that, in recent times, these realms have consciously dismissed art. Adherents to science and technology believe that reason alone should prevail, and that reason should form the basis of scientific considerations. Unfortunately, however, principles based on reason have become the principles that preoccupy humanity; as a result, people with the ability to reason have moved to the center of all things, leading to the reign of science and technology as "infallible gods."

We might say that the key concepts of da Vinci science are general knowledge and kansei knowledge (knowledge derived from sensitivity), unlike the science and technology of recent times grounded in specialized and reasoned knowledge. I myself truly desire a da Vinci-type science and technology capable of combining general knowledge and kansei knowledge.

However, da Vinci was a man who lived not in modern times, but about 500 years ago. Considering his era, could we not argue that da Vinci may have been acquainted with all fields of knowledge? Certainly, it is inconceivable to have a person embody da Vinci's qualities today. This is because specialized fields are becoming segmented and each is becoming very highly systemized, with an ever-deepening well of knowledge.

Nonetheless, in recreating da Vinci today, we do not necessarily have to restrict ourselves to a single person. A da Vinci today could conceivably be recreated by a group. A major premise for such a person or group would have to be the execution of advanced specialized research in various fields. If professionals in such fields could link hands, we could see a single group emerge as a present-day da Vinci.

This is the da Vinci science that I dream about. But will society also move in this direction? Fortunately, a shape similar to what I envisage is slowly emerging.

As one example, a new graduate school organization integrating literature and science with the goal of interdisciplinary collaboration was established at Tokyo University in April 2000. This organization is called Jyouhou Gakukan (Interfaculty Initiative in Information Studies), and I had the pleasure of participating in it.

When one considers it, a university is the most suitable organization for hosting a da Vinci group. As indicated, the English term for gakukan is "interfaculty initiative," implying that the organization should take the initiative away from the conventional "department" (faculty) and assume the goal of pioneering and extending new "da Vinci-type" fields.

Even the Japanese Academy of Facial Studies, which I helped to inaugurate in 1995, has been aiming to become a da Vinci group. In fact, a number of researchers in the Japanese Academy of Facial Studies are engaged in various specialties. These fields span philosophy, anthropology, psychology, physiology, post-mortem art, cosmetology, orthodontics, forensic medicine, drama, fine arts, and even computer science. Encounters that were once considered unlikely have been initiated through the Japanese Academy of Facial Studies via the science-based framework created to date.

Another example is the ATR Media Integration & Communications Research Laboratories (ATR-MIC), which have been focusing on the integration of da Vinci-type art and technology.

Looking back, I can see that it was necessary to accept the contributions of mathematics, physics, and chemistry as temporary methodologies during the period of technical development. Engineering was categorized as a type of applied science and was grouped with science as "science and engineering." However, today's technological methodologies do not necessarily involve science and engineering alone. For example, psychology has also become an integral part of science and engineering. And no matter what, culture will also become an integral part of technology.

The time has come to make art a compulsory subject, like mathematics and physics in engineering at the university level, in order to foster personnel capable of using technologies and culture. It has also come time for businesses to fail if they do not consider art within their basic research. I truly believe that this era will soon arrive.

The achievements of ATR-MIC have indeed sown many excellent seeds capable of anticipating the times. The challenge now is to cultivate these seeds. In Japan, we should ask ourselves what we can do now in order to hold our heads high in the coming age.