Hylozoism

The term hylozoism ( Greek: hyle ὕλη: substance, matter ( usp.: forest, wood, timber ); Greek: zoe: life ) is coined in the 17th century by Ralph Cudworth. With this notion, the cosmological idea is referred to that life or the ability of self- motion is a property of matter. He can stand for the following views:

  • The assumption that absolutely all things are animated in some way.
  • The idea of ​​a world imbued with life, with apparently inanimate appearing things can be revived.

Hylozoists were the Ionian natural philosophers who described the origin of all things from a primary matter ( Arché ), so the water Thales, Anaximander the apeiron ( the infinite ), Anaximenes air or Heraclitus fire. In that regard, Aristotle simple bodies as objects of certain (Phys. B1, 192b ) which carry its origin to the movement itself in itself, his philosophy is influenced by hylozoism. In modern times, the views are, inter alia, characterized by Giordano Bruno and Denis Diderot as hylozoism.

Immanuel Kant 's opinion of the H.: " The hylozoism quickeneth all things, materialism on the other hand, if it is considered accurate, kills everything." Kant described the hylozoism as physical realism, according to which "the purpose in nature to the analogue one by intention trading assets, the life of the matter " is based. Kant himself held this position, however, for circular.

Since the 19th century, the term is often used critical of the materialistic- mechanistic philosophy for all non- materialistic, non- mechanistic philosophy. In the 20th century, yet FCS Schiller is attributed to the hylozoism.

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