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Is vitalism actually discredited though? Sure, urea & synthetic urea are chemically the same and behave identically in a chemical sense — but wouldn't a vitali

by zeveb 10y ago

Is vitalism actually discredited though? Sure, urea & synthetic urea are chemically the same and behave identically in a chemical sense — but wouldn't a vitalist argue that there's more than just chemistry at play? The problem with vitalism is that it's unfalsifiable; that doesn't mean that it's wrong, simply that science doesn't have the ability to refute it.

theophrastus 10y ago
This reminds me of a student's comment: "oh but that's only true within the confines of logic". That is, i'm sure a 'vitalist' would argue: "oh that's just chemistry, what of beyond chemistry?" to which i'd be forced to ask: are we talking about concepts where science isn't accepted? isn't that the realm of spiritualism? ("this protein is imbued with an ineffable living essence; whereas the one you synthesized must necessarily lack it") There are certainly folks who believe that things go on in a living system's metabolism which transcend chemistry, but on that point we part ways and i wish you well. and/or for me vitalism was forever falsified when a synthetic molecule and a 'natural' molecule co-crystallized.