vitalist

/'vaitəlist/

Thân thiện

A scientist examines a plant's growth as a vitalist might.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A believer in vitalism: A person who adheres to the doctrine of vitalism, which holds that the functions of a living organism are due to a vital principle distinct from purely physical or chemical forces.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • As a vitalist, she argued that life processes could not be fully explained by chemistry alone.
  • The 19th-century debate between mechanists and vitalists centered on the nature of life itself.

Advanced Usage

• Philosophical/Historical Context: The term is primarily used in historical and philosophical discussions about the nature of life. A vitalist typically opposes mechanistic or reductionist views in biology.
  • The biologist's vitalist stance was considered outdated by his peers who embraced molecular explanations.

Variants and Related Words

• Vitalism (n): The theory or doctrine that life originates from a vital principle distinct from chemical and physical forces.
  • Vitalism was a significant philosophical current in early biology.
• Vitalistic (adj): Relating to or characteristic of vitalism.
  • His vitalistic theories were met with skepticism.

Synonyms

• Animist (in some philosophical contexts, though animism often pertains to a soul in all things, not specifically a life force in organisms).

Antonyms

• Mechanist: A person who believes that life phenomena are fully explainable by the laws of physics and chemistry.
• Reductionist: A person who explains complex phenomena by reducing them to simpler, often physical, components.

Học thuật

Noun

1. one who believes in vitalism