Medicine: The decisive test of anticipation

Abstract

Given the life and death extremes at which medicine operates, no other human activity is of higher significance to members of society, and to society itself. Therefore, it is surprising that, instead of aligning itself with the anticipatory condition of life, medical practitioners at all levels approach health from the physics perspective of reaction and reductionism. On the other hand, anticipation-definitory of the living-could prove to be consequential if the perspective it opens would become the backbone of medicine. The study discusses the reported negative effects of healthcare and medical practice based on the mechanical model provided by physics-dominated science. Acknowledging technological progress in medicine, the study also provides actual expressions of anticipation important for the theory and practice of medicine. Complexity is examined as a characteristic of anticipatory systems. Lastly, the study suggests concrete steps towards an anticipation-grounded medical education.