ˈvīd. ə lˌizəm, -īt ə l- noun
( -s )
Etymology: vital + -ism
1. : a doctrine that the functions of a living organism are due to a vital principle (as an élan vital or entelechy) distinct from physicochemical forces — compare mechanism , organicism
2. : a doctrine that the processes of life are not explicable by the laws of physics and chemistry alone and that life is in some part self-determining instead of mechanistically determined — compare organicism , orthogenesis