Harvey, Cambridge and Aristotle

Harvey's natural philosophy, and the research programme that – it will be argued here – he derived from it, had Aristotle as its main source. Harvey would have first made acquaintance with Aristotle's philosophy at Cambridge. Natural philosophy was, of course, a traditional part of the arts course: in thirteenth-century Cambridge they spent the third and fourth year reading the libri naturales of Aristotle, the Europe-wide corpus of natural philosophy. The Edwardian statutes of 1549 also specify two years of philosophy, including moral philosophy, politics and ‘problems’ from Aristotle, Pliny or Plato. Perhaps the intention was to reinforce the old system of teaching after the uncertainties of the Reformation. Henry VIII had abolished the teaching of canon law and as a consequence civil law also suffered something of an eclipse in the universities. Medicine had never attracted large numbers at either university and the remaining higher faculty, theology, or now rather divinity, became an important instrument in the perpetuation of the new faith. Much more than before, the universities in England became predominantly schools of philosophy and divinity.

But in Mary's reign the universities reverted to the Catholic church, and the papal legate, Cardinal Pole, removed the Edwardian statutes. Under Elizabeth the Edwardian statutes of Cambridge were renewed (1559) in a modified form. Now natural philosophy was included in the studies for only the last year of the four, between the BA and MA.