Literary notes about spontaneous (AI summary)
The word “spontaneous” appears in literature as a versatile descriptor for phenomena that arise naturally and without premeditation. In some contexts, it underscores the intrinsic quality of an ideal or emotion—for instance, an unbidden ideal is described as spontaneous in a moral framework [1], and sudden bursts of enthusiasm or cheer are characterized as spontaneous expressions of genuine feeling [2]. In more scientific or psychological works, the term is employed to denote processes that occur without external prompting, such as the natural variations in biological systems [3] or unplanned transformations observed in mental processes [4]. This broad usage reinforces the idea that spontaneity, whether in ethics, nature, or art, signifies an unforced, immediate emergence that enriches the texture and realism of the subject discussed.
- The services required of each must involve no injury to any; to perform them should be made the servant's spontaneous and specific ideal.
— from The Life of Reason: The Phases of Human Progress by George Santayana - His air, his figure, his position were alike commanding, and at the sight of him a loud and spontaneous cheer burst from the assembled thousands.
— from Sybil, Or, The Two Nations by Earl of Beaconsfield Benjamin Disraeli - This may be attributed partly to the principle of correlated growth, and partly to so-called spontaneous variation.
— from The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection by Charles Darwin - [307] But in the pathological cases the transformation is spontaneous.
— from The Principles of Psychology, Volume 1 (of 2) by William James
