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the action or condition of being automatic; mechanical or involuntary action.
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.
physiology. the involuntary functioning of an organic process, especially muscular, without apparent neural stimulation.
psychology.

the performance of an act or actions without the performer’s awareness or conscious volition.
such an act, as sleepwalking.

a method of producing pictorial art, as paintings and collages, -ssociated 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.
contemporary examples

there is an automatism to him, a preternatural talent for responding exactly, and briskly, with what is expected.
oren makes friends, not news jacob silverman october 15, 2012

historical examples

but the living, wakeful psyche is so flexible and sensitive, it has a horror of automatism.
fantasia of the unconscious d. h. lawrence

in certain cases, however, the instinct loses its rigidity and automatism.
the industries of animals frdric houssay

rather the contrary, a living fear of the automatic conclusion: the soul’s just dread of automatism.
fantasia of the unconscious d. h. lawrence

because—and this is very important—the dream-process loves its own automatism.
fantasia of the unconscious d. h. lawrence

the sphere of the personality is reduced, and personal activity gives place to automatism.
metapsychical phenomena j. maxwell

for automatism in life is a forestalling of the death process.
fantasia of the unconscious d. h. lawrence

and smoke sank down beside her, a wan sneer on his face for the automatism that had made him struggle for an unneeded fire.
smoke bellew jack london

then we arise with a feeling of the monotony and automatism of life.
fantasia of the unconscious d. h. lawrence

the further question arises, why does the automatism appear in the visual and not in the acoustic sphere?
collected papers on -n-lytical psychology c. g. jung

noun
the state or quality of being automatic; mechanical or involuntary action
(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
(psychol) the performance of actions, such as sleepwalking, without conscious knowledge or control
the suspension of consciousness sought or achieved by certain artists and writers to allow free flow of uncensored thoughts

automatism au·tom·a·tism (ô-tŏm’ə-tĭz’əm)
n.

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.

the reflexive action of a body part.

an act performed without intent or conscious exercise of the will, often without realization of its occurrence, as for certain types of epilepsy.

a condition in which one is consciously or unconsciously, but involuntarily, compelled to the performance of certain acts. also called telergy.