ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the health system to include all activities carried out within a society that have as an expressed purpose the maintenance of a positive biological relationship to the environment and the prevention of those disruptive behaviors the society attributes to ill health. The somewhat atomistic and mechanistic approach of Western scientific thought exemplified by the germ theory of disease and the mind-body dichotomy has provided the prevailing general theory about the etiology of health and illness in society. During the past several decades there has been a gradual shift in the United States in the political and social values regarding health and health services. In designating which activities have the express purpose of serving the function of maintaining a positive biological relationship to the environment, it is recognized that notions and beliefs about etiology and incidence color what is assumed to be health-related and what is, therefore, assigned to the health system.
