Vitalism And Vitalist Philosophy Research Assignment (Essay Sample)

Vitalism and vitalist philosophy
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Vitalism and vitalist philosophy
Vitalism is considered the central concept in the different traditional health systems. It is a philosophical doctrine that suggests that living things have some non-physical elements which distinguish them from the non-living organisms. The concept dates back to the Aristotle’s period in the 17th century. It further suggests that the doctrine suggests that lives in various organisms are as a result of some other vital forces which are different from the chemical and physical effects (Peters 2002, p.32). Another distinction between life and other mechanisms as suggested by this concept is that life is self-evolving and also self-determining. It is, therefore, an approach that was used in the traditional health systems to prevent and treat various diseases through supporting various defined vital forces in an individual living organism. Such vital force existed in all different bodies regardless of their diverse forms of existence. Therefore, it played such an important role in treatments in the early days making gain much popularity between the 16th and the 17th centuries.
Vitalism concept is associated with quite a long history in the medical philosophies. Most of these traditional healing practices suggested that most diseases resulted from imbalances in the vital forces. Also, when there is depletion in these crucial forces or runs out of balance, a living organism becomes more vulnerable to diseases meaning that they can easily contract various diseases as well as infections. Therefore, the mode of treatment practiced by the vitalist focused on maintaining balance in the vital forces while reinforcing healthy lifestyle practices accompanied by some non-invasive therapies (Leary 1990, p.144). Therefore, this concept was somehow different from the modern health systems in various ways. For instance, concerning the belief of the causes of diseases or the way to the treatment procedures employed in the healing and prevention of such disorders. This may be the reason that this traditional concept may have lost relevance for use in the modern ways of handling health issues.
The concept employed numerous healing modalities and thus was not limited to a given pattern. Being of philosophical nature, the doctrine believed in the guidance of various principles in the application of their methods and tools of treating and preventing diseases.  The healing practices could be done in an allopathic way or the vitalist way. The diagnosis and the treatment of diseases under this concept were based on the understanding of the actual nature of a person’s individuality to the greater totality (Kirschene et al. 200, p.82).
Vitalist philosophy became more popular in the 18th century and held an opposing view to chemical and physical mechanisms. Such mechanisms believed that different life processes could only be explained through chemical and biological processes only.  However, for the individuals who adhered to the view of the vitalist philosophy posited that the living objects were characterized by some different special forces making them distinct from the inanimate (Bennett 2010, p.48). The same biologists who held to the vitalist view further suggested that it was not possible for the organic compounds to be created from the inorganic compounds. The main reason for this fact was that there was a vital force missing to facilitate the process. This did not exist for long and survived for some years until it was disproved by scientists who created organic compound from inorganic ones. This was done by a scientist called Wohler who synthesized urea, which is an inorganic compound, from some inorganic elements (Gupta 2000, p.467). These biologists also discovered that yeast cell contents were capable of causing fermentation even when the yeast whole cell did not exist.
The relevance of the vitalist philosophy started declining when the biologists started coming up with proof to counter the evidence raised by the vitalism concept. The concept now does not hold credibility since most of the individuals have begun viewing the body of any living organism as a system. They argue that the human body can be broken down into two different parts and be analyzed by examining the various elements that form it. The ability to proof the physical and chemical nature of the various vital phenomena has contributed significantly to vitalism losing prestige in the modern world (Normandin and Wolfe 2013 p.146). However, despite these facts, the concept has not completely lost significance though it has declined. The main reason that this doctrine is reputable despite being disproven is that of the role it has played in the field of health and medicine. Other many concepts have their grounds in this ancient doctrine.
Relevance to CAM (Chinese and Alternative Medicine) practitioners
Most of the Chinese and alternative medicine practitioners practices derive from the ancient health systems which were close to the natural and social environments in dealing with issues. Therefore, vitalist provided the basis to the traditional Chinese medicine which is unique for being the only medical system in the world based on the vitalist concepts and practices. For instance, the vitalist believed in the existence of factors beyond biomedical process in their paradigm. This led to the Chinese Medicine practitioners suggest of a life force, known as “qi,” which flows throughout the body following certain channels. They believed that it is this force that maintains the vitality as well as the health of an individual (Bennett 2010, p.47). For this reason, vitalism is of high relevance to these practitioners for providing the concepts to base their arguments on.
Secondly, much of the alternative medicine paradigm builds on the vitalism. Its notion of living organisms possessing some unique qualities has contributed to the development of these alternative medicines. These practitioners developed a practice by which they address the vital matter of life when dealing with health problems. However, as they copied from the vitalist approach, they tend to ignore the materialistic and mechanistic views towards the treatment of diseases. This habit has earned the Chinese and alternative medicine practitioners much attention from the public. The shared notion of a living force between the two approaches helps the modern practitioners to base some their arguments in the ancient methods (Peters 2002, p.33).  It, therefore, helps them to convince those trying to oppose them by basing their evidence from such old ways as vitalism.
Another relevance provided by the vitalism to CAM is the confidence it has created in these practitioners in their daily activities. The CAM practitioners believe that the life of an organism contains a particular element, qi, which is very vital and cannot be explained by the physical or chemical processes. This is, however, affirmed by the vitalist approach creating more confidence in the belief of these practitioners (Milgrom 2002, p. 31).. The concept also enables them to oppose the materialistic view confidently.  This trust has seen them continue to thrive in a world that is full of opposing views especially with the scientific advancements that have occurred.
Significance of vitalist concerning naturopathy
Naturopathy is an approach that has its basis in the philosophical perspective of that of the vitalism. It also tends to oppose the arbitrary nature of the human beings. The naturopathic approach tends to suggest that there is something beyond the various biochemical processes that gives life to the living organisms. Therefore, just like the vitalist view, it tries to oppose the mechanistic worldview that argues that the only thing distinguishing the living things and the non-living ones is only the aspect of the complexity of the systems. The vitalism approach has provided alternative viewpoints to approach within the context of the modern naturopathy. In fact, it has helped the naturopathic approach to acknowledge the complexity of the human body systems without falling into the paradigm of biomedicine. Therefore, the relationship between the two methods has been very significant to the field of naturopathy. This has been manifested in both the reasoning and methods of handling treatment (Di Stefano 2006, p.67).
The incorporation of the vitalistic approach to matters relating to health is a very important concept to the naturopathy which is a modern healing modality. The primary objective of the naturopathy is helping the body regain some degree of balance. It does this by addressing the cause of the circumstances other than the symptoms. It is so because the approach does not look the complexity aspect alone but also the interrelationship between several other factors in treatment. Naturopathy, just like vitalism, differs with the biomedicine in the mode of therapy (Milgrom 2002, p. 29). While the previous deal with the cause, biomedicine just works at alleviating the symptoms. The vitalistic approach introduced the aspect of body balance which the naturopathy seeks to re-establish when treating diseases. It, however, tends tom oppose the invasive methods practiced by biomedicine fearing that they may instead interfere further with the balance (Bennett 2010, p.47).  Thus, vitalism is considered the central tenet of the naturopathic approach and its concept is usually held ...