Editor:- Today I read with great interest your 'Editor's Choice on
'Restoring the soul of medicine; also the other articles and letters in
the same issue along the same line.
It seems to me that the debate flounders because our language in
discussing such matters is so deeply affected by a discredited
philosophical dualism of 'mind/body' instead of regarding the world as a
collection of events; the living brain consists of some of the events that
constitute the universe and our 'mind' is just a term for some of those
events.
Looking at medical science from this perspective reductionism as a means
of trying to understand the world has produced a measure of understanding,
but to increase our grasp of complexity then the fruits of reductionism
need to be viewed in the terms of context which does not involve
unverifiable and vague concepts such as 'holism'
Further progress in neuroscience allied to a new language to speak of
mind/brain events should eventually make it clearer the way that emotions,
whether negative or positine, can influence systems such as the immune and
endocrine ones.
This may bring greater clarity to our thoughts on these matters.
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Reductionism and ComplexityHome Ad
Editor:- Today I read with great interest your 'Editor's Choice on
'Restoring the soul of medicine; also the other articles and letters in
the same issue along the same line.
It seems to me that the debate flounders because our language in
discussing such matters is so deeply affected by a discredited
philosophical dualism of 'mind/body' instead of regarding the world as a
collection of events; the living brain consists of some of the events that
constitute the universe and our 'mind' is just a term for some of those
events.
Looking at medical science from this perspective reductionism as a means
of trying to understand the world has produced a measure of understanding,
but to increase our grasp of complexity then the fruits of reductionism
need to be viewed in the terms of context which does not involve
unverifiable and vague concepts such as 'holism'
Further progress in neuroscience allied to a new language to speak of
mind/brain events should eventually make it clearer the way that emotions,
whether negative or positine, can influence systems such as the immune and
endocrine ones.
This may bring greater clarity to our thoughts on these matters.
Dr H. Bernard Lewis
Swansea SA5 9DQ
Competing interests: No competing interests