Philosophy & ThoughtGreek → English
Hylozoism
/ˌhaɪləˈzəʊɪz(ə)m/noun
The doctrine that all matter is in some sense alive.
The Greek roots
ὕλη
hýlē
matter, wood
ζωή
zōḗ
life
Literally: “matter-life doctrine”
The story of the word
The Cambridge Platonist Ralph Cudworth coined it in 1678, and not as a compliment: he wanted a label for the atheists who made matter self-animating and so dispensed with God. The Greek ὕλη started out meaning timber and became Aristotle's word for matter, the stuff a form is imposed on, which is why hylomorphism pairs the two. Hylozoism is the older, blunter cousin of panpsychism.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → English coinage
- First recorded
- 1678
Same family
hylomorphismzoologyprotozoanzodiac
In a sentence
Cudworth attacked hylozoism as atheism with better manners.
The early Ionians are often read as hylozoists.