Vital Force (Noun)
Meaning
(biology) a hypothetical force (not physical or chemical) once thought by Henri Bergson to cause the evolution and development of organisms.
Classification
Nouns denoting natural phenomena.
Examples
- Henri Bergson's concept of vital force posits that a non-physical energy drives the evolution and development of living organisms.
- The idea of vital force was widely accepted in the 19th century, but has since been largely discredited by the scientific community.
- Bergson believed that vital force was responsible for the creative evolution of species, guiding them towards greater complexity and diversity.
- The concept of vital force was seen as a way to explain the apparent purposefulness and direction of evolutionary change.
- Critics of vital force argue that it is an untestable and unprovable hypothesis that has been superseded by modern scientific theories of evolution.