vitalism
the doctrine that phenomena are only partly controlled by mechanical forces, and are in some measure self-determining.
vitalistic
-
a word derived from
vitalism.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It was also his belief in vitalism, apparently transmitted to Charles, that provided the “crucial link to alternative medicine,” given that so much of alternative medicine is based on vitalistic beliefs.
From Slate ● Mar. 17, 2015
And DNA, once unveiled, left little room for the ethereal, vitalistic accounts of life that so many people had found comforting.
From Time Magazine Archive
In 1899, by fertilizing sea-urchin eggs with chemicals and producing young larvae, he struck a heavy blow at the popular vitalistic theory which maintained that some intangible "vital spirit" or "entelechy" was necessary to life.
From Time Magazine Archive
He belonged in biology to the vitalistic school of G.E.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 4 "Bulgaria" to "Calgary" by Various
The most important investigators in their special domain, the physiologist Johannes Müller, the chemist Julius Liebig, remained faithful to a modified vitalistic standpoint.
From Naturalism And Religion by Rudolf Otto
