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.