Subscribe Feed (RSS)The Five Levels of Disease - (Part 3) the Five Level Model
August 31st, 2006 by admin | Filed under Uncategorized.The Five Levels of Disease (Part 3) The five level model
In keeping with the commitment to understand that viewpoints need not be problematic or indeed flashpoints as they very often are, I offer what I call the “Five Level Model” of disease. In this model, viewpoints or perspectives are added to create more, though not necessarily all, of the whole picture. This is simply using different perspectives as one would jig-saw pieces and as you will see allows very diverse subject matter and perspectives to fit together in a harmonious whole, rather than produce the endless argument and conflict about right and wrong. The endless polar struggles can be brought to resolution in this light.
The view at microscopic level
This is the level that most people understand as ‘scientific’. Much ‘scientific study’ is undertaken at this ordinarily invisible level.. It involves examining tissue under the microscope which is displaying disease and making comparison with healthy tissue. It seeks to view at the level of the microscope and indeed at the molecular level and to describe and theorise about the patterns and the progression of the disease at that level. It also seeks to intervene at that level by inhibiting or blocking changes associated with disease and/or promoting changes which would be associated with health.
The view at ordinary level
The ordinary level is the visible level of the body. It is seen with the eyes and felt with the hands. It can be viewed perhaps by an x-ray image. This is what disease look like at the body level. It is the patchy redness of a sore throat and the red painful fluidy swelling of an abscess.
These first two levels constitute the main areas of what might be called the accepted ‘science’. It can be seen and measured to some degree and so is thought of as ‘real’ or ‘hard’ science.
My science is better than yours!?
‘Real’ or ‘hard’ science are terms often used to discredit the so-called ‘soft’ sciences. The basis of this ‘realness’ or ‘hardness’ is essentially measurability. The more measurable and verifiable the phenomenon, the ‘harder’ the science, the more difficult to measure and verify the ‘softer’ the science. Hard science tends to look down its nose at the softer science, thinking itself real and definite while the ‘other’ is nebulous, unreal and thus not to be relied upon. This is a very understandable position because the physical is so obvious, visible and measurable.
The non-physical by contrast is not easily visible and measurable and so is therefore somewhat untrustworthy from that point of view. In relation to people and disease, the non-physical element is the emotional and mental element. This element of humanity plays a huge role in our attitudes and behaviours but unfortunately cannot readily be measured and so is either ignored, discredited or discounted entirely. While this is certainly understandable, it can never be desirable to leave out or discount such a huge part of what it is to be human. Disease it might be argued can be seen physically and measured, therefore disease is physical and so the solution to it must be a physical one. This type of partial thinking has allowed us to separate the physical part of ourselves from the emotional or mental part and assume that these levels exist independently and separately. It even allowed us to think that one part of the body can be treated separately and independently of other parts. Thus dental medicine is considered a separate entity from general medicine. Dental medicine affects the dental tissues and the surrounding environment and general medicine has to do with the rest of the body. This is, of course, a thoroughly insane idea despite the fact that this is how we not only view but also practice these disciplines.
The Emotional Level
This is the first of the soft levels and of course this is where much of the controversy begins. Emotions in general are not viewed well by scientists. They might be seen as the realm of poets and writers, song and story but they are not ‘science‘. Emotions are viewed as subjective, unpredictable and volatile, undependable and untrustworthy. It is fine to write songs, poems or novels and these are fine as entertainment but keep all that away from science (knowledge). Science, by contrast, is objective, predictable and measurable, dependable and trustworthy.
Yet our emotional life is so caught up with our physical habits and behaviours that to try to study human disease without reference to our humanness especially our human emotions is and will soon be seen as an extraordinarily foolish undertaking.
The Mental Level
This is the most misunderstood level because the mental level that gives rise to emotions is generally unconscious and so not particularly available to scrutiny or study. Yet it is a true causal level, since it gives rise to the emotions that dictate attitude and behaviour on a physical level. Addiction is a good example of how poor self-belief gives rise to the negative emotions and feelings that we try to hide or disperse with alcohol, cigarettes or other substances
The Societal Level
This is the over-level that is responsible for the general attitudes and beliefs to which people subscribe. All people born into the world will be subject to prevailing attitudes and beliefs and will to greater or lesser extent to influenced by them. No person will be able to avoid this societal conditioning. And remember that it is conditioning, not necessarily human nature as it is often termed. As an example, up to a little over a hundred years ago, it was seen as acceptable that 50% of our human population (the female population) should not be entitled to vote! Even more stark is the fact that Australian Aboriginal people, as recently as 60 years ago, were dealt with under the Department of Wildlife!
How advanced a society are we?
Isn’t it time that we accepted how utterly insane many of the fundamental notions of society are, and decided to look again at what we hold as true and correct. Two groups of avowed followers of Jesus Christ in Northern Ireland seem to see nothing strange in their brutal and murderous enmity of each other, despite the fact that “Love thine enemy” was a fundamental tenet of the divine leader that they claim they love and follow.
When viewpoints are allowed to be only what they are, i.e., perspectives from different points and not immutable truths to be defended to the death, we will have begun to see reason and sanity. Perhaps we might then be able to take the next obvious step, and integrate the many points of view into a coherent overview.
My name is Philip Christie. I qualified as a Dental Surgeon at Trinity College, Dublin (Ireland) in 1980 and completed a Master’s Programme in Dental Science, again at Trinity College Dublin, by research in 1995. I have been working full time in dental care either in general practice or specialist practice since qualification. My main interest is and always has been prevention.
My real qualification is 23 years experience in dealing with real people and their problems face to face, as a clinical practitioner.
I am the author of “Something To Chew On: A Mouth Map To Health”. It is a Health Manual with a difference. Different because it is designed for the future and for success. It is different because it gives the power back where it belongs, to the person’s own self. Different because it prevents problems at source and saves on treatment and cost!
Philip.christie3@ntlworld.ie
peopleaspartnersinmedicine.com peopleaspartnersinmedicine.com
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