vital principle vs causal agent

vital principle and causal agent both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
vital principle	Yes	No	No	No
causal agent	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, causal agent is a hypernym of vital principle; that is, causal agent is a word with a broader meaning than vital principle:

vital principle: a hypothetical force to which the functions and qualities peculiar to living things are sometimes ascribed
causal agent: any entity that produces an effect or is responsible for events or results

Other hypernyms of vital principle include causal agency, cause.

vital principle (noun)	causal agent (noun)
a hypothetical force to which the functions and qualities peculiar to living things are sometimes ascribed	any entity that produces an effect or is responsible for events or results