Author: Aldanova Aziza
Translated by: Turarova Aiym
Hans Jonans is a German scientist and existentialist who argued that psychosomatic medicine requires a philosophy that transcends the dualism of mind and body. If Descartes had previously stated that the human soul (res cogitans) is completely different from physical reality (res extensa), this implied that there is no relationship between physical science and the human soul. Thus, we could refute the theory of Aristotle that has been laid down on the foundations of churches for centuries. Hence, metaphysical dualism has won tolerance for two concepts, one of them theological and the other scientific and mathematical. But because dualism insisted on the absolute difference between mind and body, philosophers and theologians felt compelled to take one side or the other. But it is clear from our daily experience that the mind and body are closely connected. Therefore, our philosophy of life should be able to show the relationship of the psyche and soma, so that no component of the whole is shorter than the second, neither objective nor subjective. These traits in living beings are manifested due to the three polarities indicated by G. Jonas.
The first is "Being against non-being". An organism under threat of non-existence must always constantly confirm its existence by its activity. Metabolic processes are structured processes that make up the body. When the structure is damaged and cannot determine the direction, the body dies. Accordingly, the identity of an organism is the same as the identity of a structure. And here we can notice that the components are changeable, they come and go, but they continue their activity, preserving the integrity of the body.
However, to maintain consistency, the body must be open to the environment, the main source of components. Here comes the second polarity - " world-bound versus closed-off”, where living beings are closed in themselves, defined by boundaries that separate them from their environment, while they turn to their environment and participate in operations with it. The cell membrane as a border protects against the influence of environmental factors. If the membrane breaks down, the cell dies. Consequently, the membrane promotes the separation of the cell from its surroundings in order to preserve the cell and its components. The restriction from appearance is observed at all levels of organic life, from the cell to the organs of bodies, to the whole organ of man as the "I". On the example of the immune system, it is designed to detect that it is not "I“, after the process is the capture of the” impostor" and its elimination.
On the other hand, the membrane is semi-permeable, which allows the exchange process from the external environment. In reality, this is necessary, since it needs a component that comes from "outside” for its existence, which confirms the third polarity "dependence and independence". For self-sufficiency, the body needs to be in touch with the environment. However, this factor can also be risky, as the environment can be harmful or deadly. This is a threat and a danger to "organic life". Also, the cell is limited within itself, which allows you to systematize both with the external environment and maintain internal balance. Metabolism is structural components, and the exchange of needed material components from the outside is the dependence of the cell and the external environment from each other, which creates the idea that this organic life is nothing but a man, and the only thing he needs to do, as life is “good”.
Living creatures themselves strive for self-preservation, signaling that this has a positive effect on humans. The value is already invested in organic life. Thus, all values based on medical practice are based on organic life. The living entities themselves have kindness, which eases suffering and prevents death. If for the organism, its own continuation is favorable, then its death is bad. Accordingly, the treatment and struggle for human life in medical practice is based on the value of the body itself. The historian of biology George Ingelheim insists on this positive value of life and negative value of death, and it is the Foundation of the” normal “and” pathological " state of the body. The subjective assessment is the feeling, the body feels, it awakens the "mind". In this way, the mind comes into contact with an organic possibility and this passes into something that leads to new possibilities.
In conclusion, I would like to add that the philosophy of life of Hans Jonas is based on the development of living forms from basic components to more complex structures, where mental life connects together. For a unified understanding of life, the dualism of the body and mind is not relevant, as the polarity of life, where the treatment of people and the effects of drugs is based on a psychosomatic understanding of their health and disease.
