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Chapter 1 - Galen on Parts

Taking the Body Apart

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2025

Aistė Čelkytė
Affiliation:
Universiteit Leiden
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Summary

Galen employs several different taxonomies of body parts, dividing the body up in various ways. This chapter looks at some of the more prominent ones, especially those that either define parthood or shed light on Galen’s theorization of parthood in other ways. The central question guiding this discussion arises from claims about (in)expendability of various parts: why is it the case that, according to him, the loss of a bone leads to a complete loss of activity the bone supports (voluntary motion in a limb), but the loss of the stomach does not lead to the loss of the activity of nutrition. One of the key preoccupations emerging from various ways in which Galen differentiates bodily parts is the proper activity of parts, which shape his understanding of the role of parts and their significance relative to each other. The final sections of the chapter sketch out the difference between normative and functional understandings of a parthood.

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Chapter
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Galen on Human Physiology
Taking the Body Apart and Putting it Back Together Again
, pp. 22 - 55
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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  • Galen on Parts
  • Aistė Čelkytė, Universiteit Leiden
  • Book: Galen on Human Physiology
  • Online publication: 28 July 2025
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009435833.003
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  • Galen on Parts
  • Aistė Čelkytė, Universiteit Leiden
  • Book: Galen on Human Physiology
  • Online publication: 28 July 2025
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009435833.003
Available formats
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Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Galen on Parts
  • Aistė Čelkytė, Universiteit Leiden
  • Book: Galen on Human Physiology
  • Online publication: 28 July 2025
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009435833.003
Available formats
×