Vitalism


 * The science today believe life is a complex form of non-living things; that is, life is non-living, too.


 * in ancient time, people believe that life is different from non-living things, is composed by some non-physical element(vital forces) or are governed by different principles than are inanimate things


 * The doctrine is broken when urea is first synthesized from non-living entities, because the Vitalism believe only organism can creat organic compound(here we referred to urea).

In the Western tradition founded by Hippocrates

 * four temperaments and
 * humours

In antient Greece, Latin, ancient China and English

 * howevery, the verb of Greek word psykhe is blow, respire, similar to the meaning of Greek noun pneuma; thus, today's meaning of spirit and soul is not so clearly distinguished; that is, spirit= soul today. An inorganic object with spirit or soul(anima) can become an animal, a kind of organism.

Eastern traditions posited an imbalance or blocking of vital forces

 * qi in China or prana in India.

medical philosophies

 * most traditional healing practices posited that disease results from some imbalance in vital forces

organic chemistry in science
In the beginning, organic compound is compound created by living things; thus, it's possessed with vital forces. After the redefinition of "organic compound," various "organic compound" never created by creatures are created by human.