Entelechy and Energy: Reconsidering Hans Driesch’s Vitalism in The Science and Philosophy of the Organism

This article reconsiders Hans Driesch’s vitalism, as articulated in his English book The Science and Philosophy of the Organism, from a novel perspective. The central thesis posits that Driesch’s vitalism was intricately intertwined with contemporary physical sciences, particularly the version of energy physics prevalent in the energetics movement at the turn of the twentieth century. More specifically, based on the conceptual framework provided by energeticists like Wilhelm Ostwald and Georg Helm, Driesch offered an intriguing treatment of the relationship between entelechy and energy within an updated Kantian philosophy of nature. This article reconstructs Driesch’s approach by elucidating four points. First, Driesch asserted that an entelechy strictly adhered to the conservation of energy. Second, he posited that the entelechy was not a form of energy and thus did not constitute a special kind of bio-specific vital energy. Third, he identified the entelechy’s most critical characteristic as its ability to suspend certain physico-chemical changes. Fourth, Driesch suggested that the entelechy influenced mechanical systems in a manner akin to Maxwell’s demon, raising the possibility of contravening the second law of thermodynamics. This article also contextualizes Driesch’s treatment within the broader development of energy physics in the latter half of the nineteenth century. In conclusion, this article offers some critical remarks on the peculiar historical phenomenon of chronic vitalism as identified by Driesch and others.