Hierarchical organization, integrations in biology and cancer, balance loss, and a question on modernism

Abstract The hierarchical organization of biological processes is considered in the light of universal interrelationships of each and every factor affecting open systems such as human life. The maintenance of health and/or the production of disease are viewed at different levels of biological organization as related to the dualistic concept. The relative effects of environmental versus genetic tendencies in the pathogenesis of “disease” are mathematically formulated as related to time and location. Psychological determinants are considered as cause and as consequence of the onset of somatic disease. The multifactorial aspects of chronic pathology are seen in relation to dominant tendencies in life and in medical sciences, as well as to individual factors. The “non-specificity” of some aspects of cancer as related to “Adaptation” is advanced. Doubts are raised regarding the ultimate value of modern technological achievements and overspecialization per se, as well as on the lines followed by modern trends in the organization of cancer research. Finally, the increasing need for progressive thoughtful integration versus increasing specialization is stressed.