A Public Talk by Branko Furst, MD
7 pm, Saturday, November 6
Windy Hill Studio, 1030 Route 21, Ghent, NY
Sponsored by the Hawthorne Valley Center for Social Research
RSVP to Branko Furst by Friday, November 5
William Harvey (1578 – 1657) An English physician who was the first person to recognize the full circulation of the blood in the human body.
This presentation is based on a virtual talk given in September at the “Folkestone Triennial.” Folkestone, UK, is the birthplace of William Harvey, a famous physician (to King James I and King Charles) and discoverer of blood circulation, who is hailed as the father of experimental medicine.
In Harvey’s honor, the theme of the festival was ‘circulation,’ which was approached from three perspectives: circulation of the blood, capital, and money, and as the movement of people and traffic in Folkestone.
Implicit in the interpretations of Harvey’s discovery is the idea that the blood is impelled by the heart, similar to a pump. However, on the basis of his research on the history of ideas that have shaped the understanding of the circulation, Dr. Furst has questioned the modern interpretations of Harvey’s work, which emphasize the mechanical aspect of his discovery, while overlooking the causal principles at the core of his thesis.
Rudolf Steiner mentioned on several occasions that the erroneous concept of the ‘heart -as- a- pump’ not only mechanizes the human being and medicine in general but also hinders the development of a healthy social life. Dr. Furst will show how modern research not only confirms Steiner’s revolutionary ideas about the heart and circulation but also supports Harvey’s ideas of metabolic heat as the cause of blood’s movement.
This event is sponsored by the Hawthorne Valley Center for Social Research and its Ethical Technology Initiative.
RSVP by Friday, November 5 by email.
Suggested donation: $5 to $20 in support of Windy Hill Arts Center and the Hawthorne Valley Center for Social Research.
