Humanism 2009 - Western University of Health Sciences

HUMANISM AND WELLNESS
Humanism can be defined as a philosophy or way of life that asserts the dignity and worth of humans and our
capacity for self-realization through reason. We can learn about our place in the world and about how our lives can
be enriched and our future sustained by caring for living beings and the environment within which we live. In this
issue of Humanism in the Health Sciences we focus on “Change: Making it Happen.” To create change that enriches
us and sustains our future, we need to explore the roots of true health and wellness. Harvard biologist E.O.Wilson
popularized the concept of “biophilia,” which says that humans have an instinctive potential for affection and
affiliation with other species and natural environments. Human groups have evolved along with other animals in
complex natural environments where the prerequisites for human health and wellness were shaped and determined by
natural selection. From a physiological perspective, wellness is the harmony arising in an individual when all their
organ systems encounter environments for which they are best adapted. Our lungs function best in clean air, not air
filled with exhaust fumes; our brain is adapted for companionship, not life in isolation; our muscles are adapted for
movement, not inactivity, and so forth.
Our health care must encompass this web of connection between humans, non-human animals, and our world. In the
past, we focused on our own specialties. Now we are coming to appreciate that a virus that affects birds could
devastate humans, or environmental changes that are toxic to wildlife impact us adversely. As we watch multitudes of
species becoming extinct, in addition to the loss of worth in their own right, we remember that drugs such as aspirin,
vincristine, and taxol have come from the natural environment. We need to maintain high levels of biodiversity to
reduce our footprint on the landscape, to protect the ecosystems that provide us with sustenance, and to shift health
care more toward preventative medicine. As co-advisors, we accept this task and hope that this magazine will
contribute in some small way to realizing these goals.
Beth Boynton, DVM and James Martin, Dr.rer.nat, Advisors
HUMANISM IN THE HEALTH SCIENCES 2009 • VOL. 12 | 3