A living systems perspective on health

Abstract

Absence of a theoretical basis for defining health has made it an elusive concept and problematic to measure. This deficiency has precluded a clear delineation of the content of health science as a field. In this manuscript I use a living systems theoretical perspective to distinguish the parts and emergent properties of health. I term the parts of health, “assets,” which include the dimensions of energetics, restoration, mind, reproduction, and capabilities. Health assets interact at the level of the whole person to form integrated and emergent capacities that enable adaptation to environmental challenges, satisfaction of needs, attainment of life goals, and survival. Healthy individuals live long and adapt to and thrive within their environments. As more is learned about the interrelationships among health assets, their influences, their consequences, and how they interact to produce integrated functional capacities, a theoretically grounded and empirically informed ontology of health will emerge.