élan vital
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
No psionic fields, no morphic resonances, no élan vital, no dualism.
From New York Times • Dec. 28, 2020
Later, Henri Bergson’s idea of élan vital — described by the French philosopher as “the explosive internal force that life carries within itself” — fueled her work.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 11, 2019
He seems propelled by an unseen power source — something along the quixotic lines of Henri Bergson’s mysterious, unknowable élan vital.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 13, 2016
Somewhere in all this, it was thought, there also resided a mysterious élan vital, the force that brought inanimate objects to life.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
The "élan vital" of Bergson and the theory of Joad are modern reiterations of this conception.
From The Necessity of Atheism by Brooks, David Marshall
