The Animal Economy as Object and Program in Montpellier Vitalism

Bibliographic Data

ID4516379
AuthorsCharles T Wolfe (0000-0002-7956-9085, The University of Sydney), Motoichi Terada (Nagoya City University)
Year2008
Volume21
Issue4
Pages537-579
Publication date2008-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueScience in Context (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0269-8897 • E-ISSN: 1474-0664
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0269889708001956
PMID19245106
OpenAlexW2033659616
LanguageEN
Citations received20
References cited32

ArgumentOur aim in this paper is to show the importance of the notion oféconomie animalein Montpellier vitalism as a hybrid concept which brings together the structural and functional dimensions of the living body - dimensions which hitherto had primarily been studied according to a mechanistic model, or were discussed within the framework of Stahlian animism. The celebrated image of the bee-swarm expresses this structural-functional understanding of living bodies quite well: "One sees them press against each other, mutually supporting each other, forming a kind of whole, in which each living part, in its own way, by means of the correspondence and directions of its motions, enables this kind of life to be sustained in the body" (Ménuret 1765c,Enc.XI, 319a). What is important here is that every component part is always a living part, i.e., every structural unit is always functional. Interestingly, while the twin notions of "animal economy" andorganisationare presented as improvements over a mechanistic perspective, they are nonetheless compatible with an expanded sense of mechanism, and by extension, with materialism as reflected notably in the writings of Ménuret and Bordeu. We thus propose both a revision and reconstruction of the historical status of the "animal economy," and a reflection on its conceptual status.In judging of the beauty of animal bodies, we always carry in our eye the oeconomy of a certain species.(David Hume [1739] 2000, 3.2.2, 311

Cognitive science · Connotation · Epistemology · Living systems · Materialism · Sociology · Vitalism · Computer Science · Historical and Literary Studies · Historical Philosophy and Science · Philosophy · Philosophy and History of Science · Psychology · Artificial Intelligence