One ancient theory was an idea called vitalism, which claimed that living things were unique because they were filled with a special substance, or energy, that was the essence of life.

有个被称为“活力论”的古老的理论认为生物体独特的，因为生物充满特别的物质，这物质就生物的本质。

Chemical discoveries intersected  with philosophical debates on vitalism versus materialism.

化学发现关于活力论唯物论的哲学辩论交织在起。

So I think the vitalist idea is really that it's kind of a dualistic interpretation.

因此，我认为活力论的观点实际上二元论的解释。

This is related to a old and very much debunked idea within science called vitalism, which for a while, because again, we did, we watched things happen and then came up with rules based on experiments after.

这科学中个古老且已被彻底否定的观念有关， 称为活力论。段时间内，因为我们观察到了些现象， 然后根据实验得出了规则。

And then the vitalism that he's talking about is a bit unclear as well, but yeah, he's sympathetic to monism in some ways, but just not in the way it's used by Schopenhauer to explain things.

而且， 他所说的活力论也有些模糊不清，但他确实以某方式同情元论，只不认同叔本华用它来解释事物的方式。

If vitalism, you mean that everything reduces to one single demi-urge.

如果说的活力论，你的意思万物归结于个单的造物主。

I think what he says and something to the effect, he doesn't like the idea of an underlying metaphysical unity, but he's more sympathetic to a vitalistic unity.

我认为他说的意思，他不喜欢那潜在的形而上学统性的想法，但他更同情活力论的统性。

He's also definitely against vitalism, right?

他确实也反对活力论，对吧？