If a super-intelligent alien was to visit our planet and search for a scientific theory of illness, she might conclude the our prevailing theory consists of “sell the drugs” and “damn the consequences”. She might also know that the scientific theory of illness consists of:
Illness Theory #1: Every illness has a cause.
It is useful to view each life entity as a whole, and to view health as whole. From this perspective, health is whole and illness is a hole in health, an absence of health.
ELEMENTARY ILLNESS is an illness with a single cause and its negative consequences.
There are three basic types of illness elements: causal illness, injury, and attribute illness. An causal illness consists of the signs and symptoms resulting from a process cause. An injury illness consists of the injuries resulting from a cause, often in the past. An attribute illness is caused by the presence or absence of a thing or attribute necessary for or blocking healthy flows of life.
COMPLEX ILLNESS is an illness with more than one element arising from a single cause or causal chain. For example one cause might result in signs and symptoms and also an injury.
COMPOUND ILLNESS is an illness consisting of two or more elementary illnesses, of an illness with two or more causes.
Does our medical system have a theory of illness? You might be surprised to learn that there is no prevailing scientific theory of illness. There are many so-called theories of illness, but none that achieve the simplicity of a scientific theory. Illness seems to be everywhere in practice, but nowhere in theory.
Why is there no scientific theory of illness? Continue reading →



