vitalist means of or espousing vitalism, the doctrine that life cannot be entirely reduced to physical and chemical factors. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 86 out of 100.
Why “vitalist” is a great word
VITALIST — [Adjective, Noun] (Adjective) Of or relating to the doctrine that life involves a non-physical vital principle distinct from physics and chemistry; (Noun) a proponent of this doctrine. From vital (from Latin vitalis, "of life") + -ist (agent suffix). First recorded in the 1860s. Unlike a mechanist, who sees life as a complex machine, or a reductionist, who dissolves the whole into its material parts, the vitalist insists on an animating spark—an élan vital. It is the warmth of a newborn’s hand distinct from a waxen doll’s, the unexplained resilience of a crushed plant seeking light, and the physician’s quiet certainty that the will to live is a medicine in itself—a dignified retreat of mystery before the advancing siege of measurement.
Etymology
From vital + -ist.
adj
- Of or espousing vitalism, the doctrine that life cannot be entirely reduced to physical and chemical factors.
noun
- Someone who believes in vitalism, the doctrine that life cannot be entirely reduced to physical and chemical factors.