ABSTRACT
First published in 2000. This is Volume IV of six in the Library of Philosophy series on the Philosophy of Science. Written in 1930, this volume looks at the nature of vital phenomena, which has been for so long the subject of dispute between vitalists and mechanists. It discusses the concepts of purpose, explanation and phenomena, the attitudes around and differences of categorisation.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part One|108 pages
Purposiveness of Vital Phenomena
chapter Chapter 1|18 pages
Purposiveness of the Most Elementary Physiological Phenomena
Assimilation and Metabolism
chapter Chapter 2|15 pages
Purposiveness of Generative and Regenerative Phenomena
chapter Chapter 3|12 pages
Purposiveness of the Phenomena of Pre-Established Adaptation
chapter Chapter 4|18 pages
Purposiveness of the Phenomena of new Adaptation
chapter Chapter 5|13 pages
Purposiveness of the Behaviour of the Lower Organisms
chapter Chapter 6|9 pages
Purposiveness of the Reflexes and Instincts
chapter Chapter 7|8 pages
Purposiveness of the Affective Tendencies
chapter Chapter 8|4 pages
Purposiveness of Mental Activity
part Two|57 pages
An Intermediate Solution between Vitalism and Mechanism
chapter Chapter 10|19 pages
Vitalism and Mechanism
chapter Chapter 11|29 pages
The Vitalistico-Energetic Solution
chapter Chapter 12|7 pages
Conclusion
Man's Place in the Universe and the New Morality of the Harmony of Life