The History and Theory of Vitalism #225289

The many admirers of Professor Driesch in England and America will, it is hoped, welcome this succinct account of the Vitalism with which his name is so prominently associated, both in its historical and theoretical aspects.<br><br>Students of The Science and Philosophy of the Organism, the Gifford Lectures, 1907-8, by which Professor Driesch is perhaps best known to English readers, will find in Part II. of this book an account of the logical foundations of Vitalism, arranged in a rather different and in many ways easier form.<br><br>As the author explains in his Foreword to Part II., all the systematic section has been completely rewritten for the English edition; and its arrangement is precisely the reverse of that adopted in the London Lectures, 1913, which are being published by Messrs. Macmillan almost simultaneous with this work. In the historical section the original text has been left substantially unaltered. This will account for a certain discrepancy between the philosophical views expressed in Part II. and those occasionally implied in the earlier pages - in particular as regards the author's position towards mechanical physics and metaphysics.