Evolution and disease.

Area of Science:

• Evolutionary medicine
• Human ecology
• Philosophy of science

Background:

• The essay critiques the uncritical application of evolutionary theory in Darwinian medicine.
• It highlights the historical shift from a physicochemical to a biological order, and subsequently to a human cultural order.
• The current cultural order, driven by human activity, is presented as detrimental to planetary and human well-being.

Purpose of the Study:

• To question the explanatory power of evolutionary medicine for diseases.
• To propose that the root of modern health issues lies in the human cultural order, not solely evolutionary processes.
• To re-evaluate the concept of adaptation within biological versus cultural contexts.

Main Methods:

• Philosophical critique of evolutionary medicine.
• Analysis of the historical interplay between physicochemical, biological, and cultural orders.
• Conceptual redefinition of adaptation.

Main Results:

• Evolutionary theory inadequately explains diseases by overlooking the transition to a biological and then cultural order.
• Human adaptation is a concept misapplied from biological systems to the stressful environments created by the cultural order.
• Chronic diseases are linked to disharmony within the human cultural order, characterized by conflict and environmental devastation.

Conclusions:

• Darwinian medicine's adherence to evolutionary theory is insufficient for understanding disease etiology.
• The human cultural order, with its imposed stresses and environmental impact, is the primary driver of contemporary health challenges.
• Addressing chronic diseases requires confronting the destructive aspects of human culture, including conflict and unsustainable economic values.