vegetative life, n.All

Vegetative life (n.) was ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠shut out of ethics by Aristotle, who denied it any impulse — like fire, it consumes what you throw in but never reaches for more.

Vegetative life (n.) passed ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠from Aristotle's commentators into modern medicine, which therefore rests on a division of life that is metaphysical and political, not scientific.