Abstract
This essay argues that William Harvey’s consistent use of vivisection to compare animals possessing critical differences with respect to the system being investigated is experiment as much as his use of ligatures to manipulate the blood flow in the cardio-vascular system. In addition, it is argued that the concept of blood circulation is a conceptual innovation that can be directly attributed to his combined use of comparative vivisection and manipulation of the cardiovascular system. Studying William Harvey’s struggle to formulate this new idea helps us to understand the role of experimental investigations in concept formation. It also helps us to understand how Harvey was able to consider himself an Aristotelian while people such as Robert Boyle saw him as a leading exponent of the ‘new’ experimental philosophy.
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