Vitalism
"Vitalism" is a descriptor in the National Library of Medicine's controlled vocabulary thesaurus,
MeSH (Medical Subject Headings). Descriptors are arranged in a hierarchical structure,
which enables searching at various levels of specificity.
The metaphysical doctrine that the functions and processes of life are due to a vital principle distinct from physicochemical forces and that the laws of physics and chemistry alone cannot explain life functions and processes. Vitalism is opposed to mechanistic materialism. The belief was that matter was divided into two classes based on behavior with respect to heat: organic and inorganic. Inorganic material could be melted but could always be recovered by removing the heat source. Organic compounds changed form upon heating and could not be recovered by removing the heat source. The proposed explanation for the difference between organic and inorganic compounds was the Vitalism Theory, which stated that inorganic materials did not contain the "vital force" of life.
| Descriptor ID |
D014799
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| MeSH Number(s) |
K01.752.935
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| Concept/Terms |
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Below are MeSH descriptors whose meaning is more general than "Vitalism".
Below are MeSH descriptors whose meaning is more specific than "Vitalism".
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Below are the most recent publications written about "Vitalism" by people in Profiles.