Article ID: CBB373320588

Epigenesis and the Rationality of Nature in William Harvey and Margaret Cavendish (2017)

unapi

The generation of animals was a difficult phenomenon to explain in the seventeenth century, having long been a problem in natural philosophy, theology, and medicine. In this paper, I explore how generation, understood as epigenesis, was directly related to an idea of rational nature. I examine epigenesis—the idea that the embryo was constructed part-by-part, over time—in the work of two seemingly dissimilar English philosophers: William Harvey, an eclectic Aristotelian, and Margaret Cavendish, a radical materialist. I chart the ways that they understood and explained epigenesis, given their differences in philosophy and ontology. I argue for the importance of ideas of harmony and order in structuring their accounts of generation as a rational process. I link their experiences during the English Civil war to how they see nature as a possible source for the rationality and concord sorely missing in human affairs.

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https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB373320588/

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Authors & Contributors
Thell, Anne M.
Wang, Xiaona
Begley, Justin
Sarkar, Debapriya
Neuss, Michael James
Liou, Jennifer Hwa Yu
Concepts
Science and literature
Natural philosophy
Women in science
Science and religion
Biogenesis; origin of life; spontaneous generation
Communication of scientific ideas
Time Periods
17th century
16th century
Early modern
18th century
19th century
Places
England
Netherlands
France
Institutions
Royal Society of London
University of Nottingham
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