Evidence
Adult Research
National Science Foundation (2006)
- 75% of adults endorse vitalistic causality
Wilson (2013)
- 73 adults (mean age=32)
- Vignettes of events
- Three explanation: vitalistic, psychological and external
- 33% chose vitalistic explanations
- No explanations: 23% chose vitalistic explanations
Infant Research
Chiropractic
Inagaki and Hatano (1993):
- 6-8 yr old children
- "Why do we eat food everyday?"
- Three explanations: intentional, mechanical and vitalistic
- 54% chose vitalistic explanation
Miller and Bartsch (1997):
- 2 explanations at a time: vitalistic, biological and psychological
- 75% chose vitalistic explanations against psychological
- Rooted in quasi-mystical concept of vitalism
- Innate intelligence regulates body function
- Spinal manipulations and mixers
Efficacy:
- 90% of patients are self-referred
- Assendelft et al. (2004): spinal manipulations are ineffective
- Proctor et al., (2001): chiropractic treatment resulted in mild-moderate adverse effects for 50% of patients
The Distinction:
Mechanism: all human actions have a pure, physical explanation
Vitalism: A 'vital force', independent of the body, influences all human processes
Vitalism
Questions?
Does vitalism have merit?
- Addison, A. (2009). Jung, vitalism and ‘the psychoid’: an historical reconstruction, Journal of Analytical Psychology, 54, 123-142. doi: 0021-8774/2009/5401/123
- Ernst, E. (2008). Chiropractic: A Critical Evaluation, Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 35, 544-562. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2007.07.004
- Gambarotto, A. (2014). Vital forces and organisation: Philosophy of nature and biology in Karl Friedrich Kielmeyer, History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Science, 48, 12-20. doi: 10.1016/j.shpsc.2014.07.007
- Morris, S., Taplin, J., & Gelman, S. (2000). Vitalism in Naïve Biological Thinking, Developmental Psychology, 36, 582-595. doi: 10.1037//0012-1649.36.5.582
- Russ, R., Scherr, R., Hammer, D., Mikeska, J. (2008). Recognising Mechanistic Reasoning in Student Scientific Inquiry: A Framework for Discourse Analysis Developed From Philosophy of Science, Wiley InterScience, 24, 500-525. doi: 10.1002/sce.20264
- Wheeler, R. (1943). Organismic vs. Mechanistic Logic, Psychological Review, 42, 335-353. Retrieved from: http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/rev/42/4/335/
- Wilson, S. (2013). Vitalistic thinking in adults, British Journal of Psychology, 104, 512-524. doi: 10.1111/bjop.12004
History:
- German roots- Göttingen School
- Albrecht von Haller- father of the 'vital force'
- Japanese roots- ki
- Personification- attribution of agency and intentionality to internal organs
- Reliance on transmission of 'vital force'
- Swiss Roots- Carl Jung
- Necessity of the 'vital principle' in explaining organic phenomena
Mechanism vs. vitalism