Abstract

BOHORQUEZ-CARVAJAL, Julián David. Of blood circulation: Descartes and Harvey. discus.filos [online]. 2019, vol.20, n.34, pp.113-129. ISSN 0124-6127.  https://doi.org/10.17151/difil.2019.20.34.6.

This paper deals with the treatment given by Rene Descartes to the discovery of blood circulation made by William Harvey, and its differences regarding the role of the heart in this process. Taking distance from the traditional interpretation of the controversy, it is concluded that, although Harvey was a declared Aristotelian and Descartes a philosopher of materialistic descent, the lattest’s postulates exhibit several scholastic prejudices and a strong theoretical charge in the observations. On the contrary, Harvey’s proposal, although inspired by Aristotle’s philosophy, ends up freeing physiology from considerations of Aristotelian thinking.

Keywords : Descartes; Harvey; blood circulation; rationalism; mechanistic philosoph.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )