automatism

[ aw-tom-uh-tiz-uhm ]

noun

1. the action or condition of being automatic; mechanical or involuntary action.
2. Philosophy. the doctrine that all activities of animals, or of humans and animals, are entirely controlled by physical or physiological causes in which consciousness takes no part.
3. Physiology. the involuntary functioning of an organic process, especially muscular, without apparent neural stimulation.
4. Psychology.
   1. the performance of an act or actions without the performer's awareness or conscious volition.
   2. such an act, as sleepwalking.
5. a method of producing pictorial art, as paintings and collages, associated chiefly with the dadaists and surrealists, in which the artist strives to allow the impulses of the unconscious to guide the hand in matters of line, color, and structure without the interference of conscious choice.

automatism

/ ɔːˈtɒməˌtɪzəm /

noun

1. the state or quality of being automatic; mechanical or involuntary action
2. law philosophy the explanation of an action, or of action in general, as determined by the physiological states of the individual, admissible in law as a defence when the physiological state is involuntary, as in sleepwalking
3. psychol the performance of actions, such as sleepwalking, without conscious knowledge or control
4. the suspension of consciousness sought or achieved by certain artists and writers to allow free flow of uncensored thoughts

Derived Forms

• auˈtomatist, noun

Other Words From

• au·toma·tist noun adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of automatism¹

First recorded in 1880–85, automatism is from the Greek word automatismós a happening of itself. See automaton, -ism

Example Sentences

"Extreme intoxication" is a state akin to automatism in which a person is not acting voluntarily and its use as a defence requires the introduction of expert evidence.

From Reuters

Other analysts countered that the defense would be successful in only a minuscule number of cases and that there is a difference between extreme intoxication and extreme intoxication akin to automatism.

From Washington Post

At issue was whether defendants accused of a violent crime in criminal court can raise extreme intoxication known as “non-mental disorder automatism” as a defense.

From Reuters

Another classic Surrealist technique: automatism, or unchoreographed doodling, through which artists believed they could escape the fetters of conscious composition to reveal a truth beyond rationality.

From New York Times

Chan and Sullivan sought to argue that they were in a state of automatism caused by something other than a mental disorder, but faced hurdles because the cause was their voluntary intoxication.

From Washington Post