vitalism

[vahyt-l-iz-uhm]

1. the doctrine that phenomena are only partly controlled by mechanical forces, and are in some measure self-determining.

2. Biology.,  a doctrine that ascribes the functions of a living organism to a vital principle distinct from chemical and physical forces.

vitalism

/ ˈvaɪtəˌlɪzəm /

noun

1. the philosophical doctrine that the phenomena of life cannot be explained in purely mechanical terms because there is something immaterial which distinguishes living from inanimate matter Compare dynamism mechanism

Other Word Forms

• vitalist noun
• vitalistic adjective
• vitalistically adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of vitalism¹

First recorded in 1815–25; vital + -ism

Example Sentences

There was something there, a sort of energy, vitalism and naivety, that was actually quite interesting.

From Los Angeles Times

When du Bois-Reymond came to the topic, it was still musty with doctrines of vitalism and mechanism, forces and fluids, irritability and sensibility, and other arcana of biology.

From Scientific American

This biocomplexity has often been mistaken for vitalism, the misconception that biological processes are dependent on a force or principle distinct from the laws of physics and chemistry.

From Scientific American

This vitalism fit in well with the world view that Goethe had learned from Spinoza, who held that nature is God and God nature.

From The New Yorker

Darwin’s theory went into eclipse at the turn of the century, Bernard’s vitalism died out altogether, but du Bois-Reymond’s mechanist approach laid the foundation of modern biology.

From Scientific American