- For other meanings, see Elan Vital (disambiguation)
Élan vital was coined by
French philosopher Henri Bergson in his 1907 book
Creative Evolution, in which he addresses the question of self-organisation and spontaneous morphogenesis of things in an increasingly complex manner.
Elan vital was translated in the English edition as "vital impetus", but is usually translated by his detractors as "vital force". It is a hypothetical explanation for
evolution and
development of
organisms, which Bergson linked closely with
consciousness - with the intuitive perception of experience and the flow of inner time.