Vitalism is the doctrine that "vital forces" are active in living organisms, so that life cannot be explained solely by mechanism. That element is often referred to as the "vital spark" or "energy" which some equate with the "soul". Look up life and living in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In philosophy, mechanism is a theory that all natural phenomena can be explained by physical causes. ... The soul, according to many religious and philosophical traditions, is a self aware ethereal substance particular to a unique living being. ...

Vitalism has a long history in medical philosophies. Most traditional healing practices posited that disease was the result of some imbalance in the vital energies which distinguish living from non-living matter. In the Western tradition, these vital forces were identified as the humours; eastern traditions posited similar forces such as qi, prana, etc. See drugs, medication, and pharmacology for substances that are used to treat patients. ... The four humours were four fluids that were thought to permeate the body and influence its health. ... Qi, also commonly spelled chi, chi or ki, is a fundamental concept of everyday Chinese culture, most often defined as air or breath (for example, a term meaning weather is tiān qi, or the breath of heaven) and, by extension, life force or spiritual energy that is part... In Hinduism, Prana is the infinite matter of which energy is born. ...

Aided by the invention of the microscope in the 16th century, the germ theory of disease gained momentum and challenged the role of vitalism in Western medicine. Attention was also drawn to the role of the various organs of the human anatomy, as opposed to vital forces, in the maintenance of life. It has been suggested that microscopy be merged into this article or section. ... (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... The germ theory of disease states that many diseases are caused by microorganisms, and that microorganisms grow by reproduction, rather than being spontaneously generated. ... Look up Attention in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Attention is the cognitive process of selectively concentrating on one thing while ignoring other things. ... Anatomical drawing of the human muscles from the Encyclopédie. ...

Experiments in the early 19th century continued to erode support for vitalism in the Western scientific community, beginning with Carl Reichenbach's theory of the Odic force. As an implication of vitalism, organic compounds were thought to be only produced by living organisms, as a byproduct of the presence of the vital forces. However, as chemical techniques advanced, it was found that many of these compounds, such as urea, could be produced using the same types of chemical processes that produced inorganic compounds. In the scientific method, an experiment is a set of actions and observations, performed to support or falsify a hypothesis or research concerning phenomena. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... For the scientific journal named Science, see Science (journal). ... Carl Ludwig von Reichenbach Baron Dr. Carl (Karl) Ludwig von Reichenbach (February 12, 1788- January 19, 1869) was a recognized chemist, metallurgist, naturalist and philosopher, a member of the prestigious Prussian Academy of Sciences. ... Also called Od [õd] and Odyle, Odic Force is the 19th century name given to a hypothetical vital energy or life force that proponents say permeates all living plants, animals, and humans. ... An organic compound is any member of a large class of chemical compounds whose molecules contain carbon, with the exception of carbides, carbonates, carbon oxides and gases containing carbon. ... Urea is an organic compound of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and hydrogen, with the formula CON2H4 or (NH2)2CO. Urea is also known as carbamide, especially in the recommended International Non-proprietary Names (rINN) in use in Europe. ... Multicolored chemicals are frequent hallmarks of chemistry. ...

Further chemical and anatomical discoveries pushed aside the "vital force" explanation, as more and more life processes came to be described in purely scientific terms, and as the medical model of disease came to be more and more focused on the failure of particular organs and processes in the body.

Vitalism in medicine (and more generally, in society) experienced a resurgence beginning in the late 20th century. Although scientific understanding of the biochemical processes which distinguish living from non-living matter has become increasingly sophisticated, so has the realization that these fundamental processes are incredibly complicated; no complete, reductionist theory has yet been proposed which coordinates all of the actions which occur in a single cell (let alone a higher organism). Just such a thing, however, is an explicit goal of several currently working molecular biologists, some of whom speak of elucidating the complete "wiring diagram" of a living cell. Biochemistry is the study of the chemistry of life, a bridge between biology and chemistry that studies how complex chemical reactions give rise to life. ... Reductionism in philosophy describes a number of related, contentious theories that hold, very roughly, that the nature of complex things can always be reduced to (be explained by) simpler or more fundamental things. ... Cells in culture, stained for keratin (red) and DNA (green). ...

Sometimes a division between soft vitalism and hard vitalism may be drawn. The former have a vitalist world-view but employ common scientific methods in their conduct, stating that their metaphysical ideas have nothing to do with their work. The latter is the category usually identified with vitalism, clearly stating that life processes are radically different from the processes in non-living matter. Scientific method as envisaged by one of its early exponents, Sir Isaac Newton, is fundamental to the investigation and acquisition of new knowledge based upon physical evidence. ... Metaphysics (Greek words meta = after/beyond and physics = nature) is a branch of philosophy concerned with the study of first principles and being (ontology). ...

Modern medical vitalism, as represented by such schools as homeopathy, naturopathy, acupuncture, anthroposophy, biodynamic agriculture and chiropractics, tends to emphasize the role that an individual's state of mind plays in both the cause and treatment of diseases. Samuel Hahnemann, the father of homeopathy Homeopathy (also spelled homœopathy or homoeopathy) from the Greek words όμοιος, hómoios (similar) and πάθος, páthos (suffering), is a controversial system of alternative medicine. ... Naturopathic medicine is the practice of assisting in the health of patients through the application of natural remedies. ... Acupuncture chart from the Ming dynasty. ... Anthroposophy, also called spiritual science by its founder, Rudolf Steiner is an attempt to investigate and describe spiritual phenomena with the same precision and clarity with which natural science investigates and describes the physical world. ... // General characteristics Biodynamic agriculture, or Biodynamics comprises an ecological and sustainable system of agricultural production, particularly of food for humans that claims to respect all creation. ... Chiropractic, or chiropractic care, is a system of health care based on the belief that many health problems can be prevented and treated using spinal adjustments in order to correct vertebral subluxations which are believed to be the cause of much disease. ...

In terms of the biology of the cell itself, a return to vitalism may be seen in the holistic idea that life is an emergent process which cannot be accurately described simply by understanding any number of chemical processes which occur in the cell. Biology is the branch of science dealing with the study of life. ... Holism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... A termite cathedral mound produced by a termite colony: a classic example of emergence. ...

See also

• Henri Bergson
• Dualism
• Philosophy of biology
• Qi

Image:Bergson. ... It has been suggested that Combative dualism be merged into this article or section. ... Philosophy of biology (also called, rarely, biophilosophy) is a subfield of philosophy of science, which deals with epistemological, metaphysical, and ethical issues in the biological and biomedical sciences. ... Qi, also commonly spelled chi, chi or ki, is a fundamental concept of everyday Chinese culture, most often defined as air or breath (for example, a term meaning weather is tiān qi, or the breath of heaven) and, by extension, life force or spiritual energy that is part...

External links

• An overview of attempts to define "life"
• http://skepdic.com/vitalism.html