Vitalism is understood as impacting the history of the life sciences, medicine and philosophy, representing an epistemological challenge to the dominance of mechanism over the last 200 years, and partly revived with organicism in early theoretical biology. The contributions in this volume portray the history of vitalism from the end of the Enlightenment to the modern day, suggesting some reassessment of what it means both historically and conceptually. As such it includes a wide range of material, employing both historical and philosophical methodologies, and it is divided fairly evenly...

Vitalism is understood as impacting the history of the life sciences, medicine and philosophy. This volume details the history of vitalism from the end of the Enlightenment to the modern day, employing both historical and philosophical methodologies.