Materialism vs Vitalism

“The theory of materialism, rising in the 17th century, holds that the only existing thing is matter, everything is composed of material and all phenomena (including consciousness, human soul and spirit) are the results of material interactions. In other words, matter is the only substance.”
Scientific materialism (physicalism) became the philosophical position of the early 20th century. The main statement of physicalism is that there are no kinds of things other than physical things.
Within naturopathy there is the assumption of the vital force (called by many things in different human cultures).
“Crude matter, instead of being the source of life is only an expression of the Life Force.”
This force is a part of the “constructive principle” in nature, “that principle which builds up, improves, and repairs.”