Anatomy and understanding the body.

Our attempts to understand the body through anatomical study often fall short. While understanding various anatomical parts is useful—much like previewing a map before visiting a new place—it's not hard to recognize that a map is at least one step removed from the actual experience of that place.

We work to see the relatedness of muscular parts, bony structures, and systems like digestion and circulation. We've made significant efforts to bring these parts together through systems thinking, but it remains very difficult to escape the shadow cast by mechanistic thinking rooted in dissection.

To me, the over-emphasis on anatomical study as a starting point for understanding the human body is like always taking the highway when traveling. You move quickly and learn a lot in a short time, but you miss so much nuance. If you only take the highway through a new city, you have no idea what's happening in the various neighborhoods you drive past on the periphery. Generally, the neighborhoods adjacent to highways aren't necessarily the best parts of the area, so you miss the parks, nightlife, restaurants, and historic districts that you might never know exist as you speed by.

The study of anatomy takes us down the highway of knowledge in a very specific trajectory. You can see evidence of this limitation in how someone with extensive anatomical knowledge isn't necessarily a good doctor or therapist.

Now, there are specific contexts where detailed anatomical knowledge is crucial. A surgeon certainly needs to be skilled in anatomy, particularly of the region they operate on. An eye surgeon doesn't need to know foot anatomy well, but they must know the eye thoroughly. The same applies to neurosurgery and orthopedics—each specialty focuses on their own system in a mechanistic way, often with excellent results. Surgery represents the exemplary example of a mechanistic approach to the body, and it works beautifully in that context.

But in general health, this approach typically falls flat. When the issue isn't surgical, people with various pains, discomforts, and malaise are often left to suffer until they become surgical candidates. That's really the prevailing view, and there's so much more that can be done. For example, a hands-on approach might relieve various tensions on a joint through different activities by redistributing or better distributing forces. This approach enhances the longevity of the body rather than allowing it to break down while merely awaiting intervention.