rdfs:comment
| - Vitalism is the theory that living things are alive because of some "vital force", some special substance or force or essence that nonliving things lack. Vitalism has been totally discredited by modern science; it is very evident from molecular biology that living things are alive because of a certain organization of nonliving matter. However, many alternative-medicine advocates propose some vitalist theory as a "theoretical justification" of their practices. Theories of qi, prana, orgone, mysterious "energies", etc.
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abstract
| - Vitalism is the theory that living things are alive because of some "vital force", some special substance or force or essence that nonliving things lack. Vitalism has been totally discredited by modern science; it is very evident from molecular biology that living things are alive because of a certain organization of nonliving matter. However, many alternative-medicine advocates propose some vitalist theory as a "theoretical justification" of their practices. Theories of qi, prana, orgone, mysterious "energies", etc. Closely related to vitalism is mind-body dualism, the theory that there is some nonphysical substance or force responsible for mind. In fact, some conceptions of the soul have that entity responsible for both life and mind, thus linking vitalism and dualism. But also like vitalism, dualism has become discredited by modern science.
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