Hylozoism is the philosophical doctrine according to which all matter is alive or animated,[clarification needed][1] either in itself or as participating in the action of a superior principle, usually the world-soul (anima mundi).[2] The theory holds that matter is unified with life or spiritual activity.[3] The word is a 17th-century term formed from the Greek words ὕλη (hyle: "wood, matter") and ζωή (zoē: "life"), which was coined by the English Platonist philosopher Ralph Cudworth in 1678.
- ^ McColley, Diane Kelsey (2007). Poetry and Ecology in the Age of Milton and Marvell. Hampshire, UK: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 115. ISBN 978-0-7546-6048-4.
- ^ Strauss, Daniel (January 2014). "Hylozoism and hylomorphism: a lasting legacy of Greek philosophy". Phronimon. 15 (1). Pretoria: University of South Africa on behalf of the South African Society for Greek Philosophy and the Humanities: 32–45. doi:10.25159/2413-3086/2211. ISSN 2413-3086 – via SciELO.
- ^ Yuasa, Yasuo (2008). Overcoming Modernity: Synchronicity and Image-Thinking. Albany, New York: SUNY Press. pp. 39–40. ISBN 978-0-7914-7401-3.