Tuesday, 22 February 2005
William Harvey's Conceptual’ Teleology: Goal-directed
Causation in De conceptione
Jim Lennox, U. Pittsburgh
(HPS/CPS)
12:05 pm, 817R Cathedral of Learning
Abstract:
In William Harvey's Exercitationes de generatione animalium
(Investigations of animal generation) he articulates a mystery
regarding animal generation, but candidly admits he does not solve
it. However, in a little
essay appended to EGA entitled De conceptione (On
conception) he provides a speculative solution--and derives
a general model of causality for generation from that solution. After explaining the mystery and William
Harvey's 'conceptual' solution, I provide an analysis and interpretation
of Harvey's model of
generative causality. The
goal of doing so is to achieve a deeper understanding of William
Harvey's Aristotelianism.
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