The Collaborative International Dictionary
Hylozoism
Hylozoism \Hy`lo*zo"ism\, n. [Gr. ? wood, matter + ? life, fr. ?
to live: cf. F. hylozo["i]sme.]
The doctrine that matter possesses a species of life and
sensation, or that matter and life are inseparable. [R.]
--Cudworth.
Wiktionary
hylozoism
n. A philosophical doctrine espousing that all or some material things possess life, or that all life is inseparable from matter.
Wikipedia
Hylozoism
Hylozoism is the philosophical point of view that matter is in some sense alive. The concept dates back at least as far as the Milesian school of pre-Socratic philosophers. The term was introduced to English by Ralph Cudworth in 1678.
Usage examples of "hylozoism".
Paracelsus and Gilbert both felt in the direction of hylozoism, or the theory of the animation of all things.