ABSTRACT
In modern clinical research and therapy, there is no doubt that the dominance of the current “biomedical paradigm” is almost global. With regard to the phenomenon of aging (time-related dysfunction), this reductionist and mechanistic model of research has been leading us toward incessant dead ends, in the sense that it has provided no real opportunities for radical breakthroughs or substantial practical advancements, which may lead to a dramatic reduction in age-related degeneration. We need to take a step back from considering aging as a mere biomedical issue, and engage in a more appropriate discourse which considers the deep evolutionary, technological, social, and cultural elements of aging. The pace of technological developments is changing the face and shape of society, and this has implications upon our biology and our evolutionary process. We need to consider these implications in a far-reaching, transdisciplinary, multi-elemental manner. This is not to say that there is no value in considering reductionist concepts. However, the current biomedical approach is necessarily reductionist and limited in scope when we consider our wider aim: the radical decrease, or even the total elimination, of age-related dysfunction. It may well be that a combination of reductionist and “systems thinking” concepts would provide answers to the complexity of aging. Here I present a view supporting the “systems thinking” approach: that it is imperative to study the complex, dynamic, and continual adaptation processes that define human aging, in order to explore effective, not-biomedical, age-decreasing strategies.
