Science and art in the light of consilience idea 31-WK19Z06

In the book "Consilience. The unity of knowledge "(1998 – English edition) Edward O. Wilson proposed a unified theory of knowledge in disciplines that range from physics to chemistry and biology, including the social sciences, art and the humanities, having its roots in the philosophical views of ancient Greeks. This idea, widely accepted in the days of the Enlightenment, is nowadays being revived in the concepts of inter- and transdisciplinary. Consilience is a search for mutual dependencies and relationships between phenomena studied by specialists from various areas of knowledge using different research tools. The lecture is an attempt to implement the idea of consilience and presents the results of studies of exact sciences such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, evolutionary biology, sociobiology, neuroscience, neurobiology, on perception of beauty and art. In particular, the concept of beauty will be discussed as the aesthetic category of being, the definition of which has changed from antiquity to the present and continues to be a subject of intensive research, both in the field of art as well as exact sciences. To gain a full insight into the nature of art and beauty, the problem should be considered interdisciplinary, taking into account the views of philosophers, artists as well as the results of investigations of the sciences mentioned above. A spectacular example is the use of mathematical fractal theory developed by Benoit Mandelbrot (1924-2010) in the analysis of Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1972) and Jackson Pollock (1912-1952) works. The results of the study revealed the fractal characteristics of the Escher’s paintings Circle Limit I, II, III,IV (1958-1959) and Heaven and Hell (1960) as well as almost all Pollocka works, whose fractal dimension increased from 1,12 in 1945 to 1,75 in 1952. It is noteworthy that in the above example, art overtook science, since Escher’s and Pollock fractal paintings were created before Mandelbrot's discovery of fractals in 1975. On the other hand, science (mathematics) allowed it to understand (and appreciate) the fractal works of artists, whereas EEG monitoring revealed that the perception of both fractals and fractal paintings generates a positive brain response, which has been found to be useful in reducing stress under fractal images presented to patients during psychotherapy.
Arrangement of the lectures is as follows: first a basis of scientific concept is introduced and then it is applied in analysis and interpretation of the art works demonstrated in the form of multimedia presentation. After the lecture, we discuss within the seminar the matters analyzed. The lecture is intended for both humanists as well as scientists and requires no pre-knowledge in the field of concepts considered. It is a unique opportunity to learn about the most important theories and concepts of exact sciences, presented in a way understandable to humanists.