Dance of the paradigms
12 August 2020
When we talk about science, most of us think of the methodology as described by Newton and Descartes. Few are aware that there are different directions and methods within science to approach reality. For example, in addition to the most common analytical approach, in which we dissect the larger issue into smaller, separate issues in order to understand the whole, there is also the methodology of synthesis. The problem to be investigated is approached in relation to its environment, in order to learn more about the characteristics of the problem. This linear approach versus the systemic approach is not a question of which method is best. What matters is whether the method of research fits the question. A linear problem requires a linear approach and vice versa. Complex, dynamic issues with large numbers of variables are not very suitable to be approached with a linear method. If you want to understand a complex, dynamic, self-organising system such as an ecosystem or a human body, a linear approach is not enough. It is necessary to understand the functioning of individual parts of such a system, but to understand the whole requires a different approach. The Dynamic Systems Theory of Karl Ludwig von Bertalanffy (1901-1972) is a nice example of the synthesis methodology in trying to understand biological ecosystems. His theory shifts the focus from the objects to relationships and from quantity to quality.
We see a similar approach in the endosymbiotic theory of the Nobel Prize winner Lynn Margulis. She shows how through a symbiotic collaboration between several single cell organisms, a complex cell with organelles eventually evolves. This system biological approach to evolution shows the necessity of the interaction between different organisms in order to achieve a complex, dynamic balance. Both at macro and microlevel. The subtle interaction of bacteria, viruses and other micro-organisms with our bodies is essential for the survival of all involved. The boundary between the outside and inside world is blurring and the exchange of information is essential for the ecosystem of which mankind is a part. Disturbances in this balance between micro-organisms and our body lead to illness. Restoring this balance is therefore essential for healing, but also for allowing our immune system to function as optimally as possible.
Chinese medicine is a system theory in the tradition of Lynn Margulis. They too approach infectious diseases as restoring a balance, with a focus on the relationship between the host and the micro-organism. They even go one step further. In the past millennia they have closely examined and described the relationship between the Xie Qi (the pathogen) and the Zheng Qi (the vitality) of the host. In the Chinese medical classic Shang Han Za Bin Lun, written in the first century by the medical scholar Zhang Zhong Jing, we find a detailed description of the different developmental stages of infection. These 6 stages describe the symptoms that occur in the interaction between the pathogen and the system (human body) it entered. The descriptions of these 6 stages not only give a good picture of where the infection is located, but also give insight into the direction in which the disease will develop. This not only offers new perspectives in the fight against infections, but above all new possibilities for preventive action.
In 2003, this systemic approach has proven to be very effective in treating SARS-CoV in Asia according to the 6 Divisions and could be a possible complementary approach to our current SARS-CoV-19 pandemic.
