Joy and the Objects of Psychoanalysis: Literature, Belief, and Neurosis

Vitalism is a profoundly science-ejected concept, though many CAM or 'natural health' cabals falsely claim that vitalism survives scientific scrutiny. I quote: "the body is basically the same universally; it is a complex (but finite) structure of hierarchical interactions. None of its activities or systems my violate any of the numerous valid physical, chemical and biological laws [...] by rejecting vitalism we make possible the rigorous study of the body [...] the rejection of vitalism, a philosophic claim that organic systems are inherently unlike nonorganic systems, in the late nineteenth century seems crucial for advance in biological sciences [...] because all biological systems must obey all biological and chemical laws, we can reject findings, theories, or claims that appear otherwise [...] to retain vitalism means to retain the idea that every so often living systems can violate laws adduced in adjacent disciples. If one retained vitalism, the biological scientists could not automatically reject competing theories that violated thermodynamic laws [p.072]." -r.c.