Definition
Vitalism
Vitalism is the philosophical belief that living organisms possess a non-physical “vital force” (élan vital) that distinguishes them from inanimate matter. It suggests that the functions of a living organism are not entirely explainable by the laws of physics and chemistry alone.
Historical Perspective
Vitalism has a long tradition, ranging from ancient thinkers like Posidonius of Apameia to early 20th-century philosophers like Henri Bergson. Historically, it was a response to the perceived impossibility of life arising from “dead” matter.
Modern Re-evaluation
In What Is Intelligence?, Blaise Agüera y Arcas argues that while traditional vitalism—appealing to supernatural forces—was superseded by molecular biology, the underlying intuition remains relevant in the context of complexity and computation.
Obs
The “vitality of matter” can be understood through the lens of dynamic stability. Rather than a mystical force, the aliveness of a system is a consequence of its computational and homeostatic properties. Matter that is “alive” is simply matter that has been organized into self-modifying, self-repairing, and replicating structures (see computronium).
Broadening Agency
Modern perspectives on vitalism (e.g., Jane Bennett’s “vibrant matter”) encourage a more holistic view of agency. This suggests that drawing strict boundaries between the “living” and “non-living” may be an ideological choice rather than a scientific one. If life is defined by networks of mutually beneficial relationships, then the “vital force” is simply the self-reinforcing dynamical process that drives the complexification of the universe.
Intuition
As Erwin Schrödinger pointed out in 1944, life involves “other laws of physics hitherto unknown”—not supernatural laws, but the yet-to-be-fully-quantified laws governing computationally complex, dynamically stable, and symbiotic systems.