élan vital

American  

[ey-lahn vee-tal] / eɪ lɑ̃ viˈtal /

noun

1. (especially in Bergsonian philosophy) the creative force within an organism that is responsible for growth, change, and necessary or desirable adaptations.

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élan vital British  

/ elɑ̃ vital /

noun

1. a creative principle held by Henri Bergson to be present in all organisms and responsible for evolution Compare Bergsonism

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Etymology

Origin of élan vital

1905–10; < French: literally, vital ardor

Example Sentences

No psionic fields, no morphic resonances, no élan vital, no dualism.

From New York Times • Dec. 28, 2020

Later, Henri Bergson’s idea of élan vital — described by the French philosopher as “the explosive internal force that life carries within itself” — fueled her work.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 11, 2019

He seems propelled by an unseen power source — something along the quixotic lines of Henri Bergson’s mysterious, unknowable élan vital.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 13, 2016

Somewhere in all this, it was thought, there also resided a mysterious élan vital, the force that brought inanimate objects to life.

From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson

The upward drive of the élan vital constitutes what may properly be known as evolution, the declining fall the process of devolution or degeneration.

From Towards the Great Peace by Cram, Ralph Adams