The Institute of Positive Biology: 10 Years Ago

 

A decade ago I published this article, and used my own personal research funds to ensure it was an an "open access" article because I believed it was an argument that the medical sciences needed to hear.  And my argument was a bold one:  that the foundational question guiding most medical research today- what causes disease?- may no longer be the most significant question to be asking and trying to answer.  Instead, a better of understanding of what causes health, happiness, resilience, play, love,  optimism, etc. might reap significant societal dividends in terms of keeping our populations more heathy and happy.  

And what has happened in the decade since that article was published?  

We have doubled down on disease research and our populations are more unhappy and unhealthy for it.  Progress is often a case of one step forward and two steps back.  While living through one's own times, one can never stand back to perceive, at least with some accuracy and objectivity,  whether the times we are in constitute genuine gradual steps forward or large steps backwards.  But I feel confident, after witnessing the public health predicaments of the past 3 years, that we have been knocked back a few steps.  

There is a potential, brighter future on the horizon for humanity.  But to aspire to make it a reality requires transcending the current prevalence of the negative, neurotic mindset that permeates the media every day, and the fixation on pathology research which drives the majority of research in the medical sciences. 

Cheers, 

Colin