It must also be noted that, in contrast to it being out of date, vitalism is still currently found in many guises within different cultural medical traditions of the world, such as the Arabic, Chinese and Indian to mention a few. In order to see how this understanding of vitalism became lost, it is necessary to provide a more detailed explanation of how the vital force was described and understood in the first place. In so doing it is possible to see how to reconnect with this knowledge once more. The first way that the vital force has been understood, is through the cosmology of the five Elements, Earth, Water, Air, Fire and Ether. Though the use of the Elements is found in cultures earlier than the Greek Hellenistic era, it was the philosopher Plato who is thought to have coined the term Element.
Air is the atmosphere by means of which all living organisms respire.
While Fire is the sun in the heavens which provides heat and light, which through the photosynthesis of plants ultimately provides the energy for every creature upon the earth. Animating the four gross Elements is the vital force, represented by the fifth Element Ether. Ether, though beyond physical manifestation, is visualized as the substance out of which the other four Elements are formed and into which they will once more dissolve. For this reason Ether has been described as the quintaessentia or fifth essence. This relationship is beautifully illustrated in the relationship of alchemical symbols for the Elements.