The Lives of Aristotle and Leonardo da Vinci

The author who died at the age of sixty-two left a body of work of about 200 authored pieces, 31 of which are still in circulation (Biography, 2018). His writings form the first body of work which constitutes Western philosophy. The work was based on various topics including logic, metaphysiscs, politics, morality, rhetoric, linguistics, poetry, science and even theatre. He contributed towards zoology and his work despite being currently obsolete, had remained challenged until the 19th century (The Famous People, 2018). Leonardo da Vinci, an artist, was born much later in 1452 in Florence, Italy. Similarly, Leonardo too apprenticed under Andrea de Cione, popularly known as Verrocchio. At Verrocchio’s workshop, young Leonardo learnt metal work, leather work, drafting, carpentry and artistic skills of painting, sculpting and drawing.

He worked with Verrocchio on various projects leading to a great mastery of his craft. The two also passed down this knowledge in similar manner in which they learned such as Aristotle being the teacher of Alexander the Great. Another similarity in the way the two artists lived is in their travels. He had 17 half siblings. His father was an attorney and a notary while the mother was a peasant. Leonardo was also raised by his uncle who had particular interest in nature which can explain his keen observance of nature and processes of nature including biological processes (History, 2018). This interest in nature led to some of Leonardo’s work on the human body such as the skeletal and digestive systems.

He valued the ability to see things and mastered the skill of observation which he later sketched. The themes around their work were similar as they tried understanding the world around them and create meaning for those after them. Despite living in entirely different periods, they contributed to knowledge in religion. Aristotle’s work influenced Islam and Christian theologians despite living in the era Before Christ. In explaining logic and persuasion ways such as logos, ethos and pathos, he drew out a way for recruiting of members into religion. These persuasive strategies have been used over time and still remain true and relevant to date. This explains why he is mostly remembered for his paintings more than his contributions to science and philosophy.

Frenchman Francois who was a friend of Leonardo was quoted saying that he (Leonardo) was a great philosopher some twenty years after the artist had passed on (Leonardo da Vinci, 2017). From the sketches in his notebook, scientific advancements such as the sketch of the bat used to develop an airplane were made. He also had sketches on the anatomy of the human body. His focus on science was different from that of Aristotle who was mostly concerned with the working of the human mind as opposed to the body. Basing on this information by Aristotle, the work of Leonardo in science such as the sketch of the bat is a productive science. By observing the anatomy of the bat, scientists were able to advance that knowledge to create an air plane.