William Harvey's Natural Philosophy [Paperback]

This is the first full study for over twenty-five years of William Harvey's doctrine of the action of the heart and of the circulation of the blood.This book, the most extensive discussion of William Harvey to be published for over 25 years, reports extensively on the views of those who wrote for and against his views and discoveries (including the circulation of the blood). It is a study of a major change in natural philosophy and of the forces which acted for and, equally important, against change. In a period traditionally central to historians of science, it is argued here that natural philosophy, and particularly Harvey's specialty within it - anatomy - was theocentric.This book, the most extensive discussion of William Harvey to be published for over 25 years, reports extensively on the views of those who wrote for and against his views and discoveries (including the circulation of the blood). It is a study of a major change in natural philosophy and of the forces which acted for and, equally important, against change. In a period traditionally central to historians of science, it is argued here that natural philosophy, and particularly Harvey's specialty within it - anatomy - was theocentric.William Harvey (1578-1657) was one of the greatest figures in the history of medicine. His major contribution to the medical sciences was his discovery of the circulation of blood. He was also the personal physician to both James I and Charles I. William Harvey's natural philosophy was a view of the world that he developed during his education in Cambridge and Padua. It contained ways of structuring knowledge, formulating questions, and arriving at answers that directed the program of work in which he discovered the circulation of the blood. This book, the most extensive discussion of Harvey to be published in over 25 years, reports extensively on the views of those who argued for and against him. Professor French studies the major changes in natural philosophy in al#µ