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automatism

   Also found in: Medical, Legal, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.04 sec.
au·tom·a·tism  (ô-tm-tzm)
n.
1.
a. The state or quality of being automatic.
b. Automatic mechanical action.
2. Philosophy The theory that the body is a machine whose functions are accompanied but not controlled by consciousness.
3. Physiology
a. The involuntary functioning of an organ or other body structure that is not under conscious control, such as the beating of the heart or the dilation of the pupil of the eye.
b. The reflexive action of a body part.
4. Psychology Mechanical, seemingly aimless behavior characteristic of various mental disorders.
[From Latin automaton, automaton; see automaton.]
au·toma·tist n.
automatism
an automatic or involuntary action. — automatist, n.
See also: Behavior
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.automatism - any reaction that occurs automatically without conscious thought or reflection (especially the undirected behavior seen in psychomotor epilepsy)
response, reaction - a bodily process occurring due to the effect of some antecedent stimulus or agent; "a bad reaction to the medicine"; "his responses have slowed with age"


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? Mentioned in ? References in periodicals archive
 
While he subscribes to the received wisdom that Twombly's beginnings must be seen as a dialogue with Jackson Pollock, hovering between the game preserves of automatism and industrialized spectacle, Leeman also recognizes the importance of Pollock's European counterparts--from Dubuffet to Fautrier, from Burri and Fontana to Manzoni.
Ego in Arcadia: Benjamin H. D. Buchloh on Cy Twombly by Buchloh, Benjamin H.D. / Artforum International
Myth two--the idea of automatism and the miraculous power of market relations in resolving all problems of social development, including the shaping of the spiritual factor.
Spiritual factor in future wars: how to shape it by Cheban, V.V. / Military Thought
According to modernist poet Andre Breton, Surrealism works as a "purely psychic automatism through which we undertake to express, in words, writing, or any other activity, the actual functioning of thought, thought dictated apart from any control by reason and any aesthetic or moral consideration.
Masquerade, magic, and carnival in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man by Shinn, Christopher A. / African American Review
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