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VOL. 11, ISSUE 1 (2026)
Transforming of Western holistic health thought in the Twentieth Century: from the Biomedical Paradigm to One Health Models
Authors
Dr. Lung-Tan Lu
Abstract
This study examines the twentieth-century
transformation of Western health thought from the dominance of the biomedical
model to the emergence of integrative frameworks such as the biopsychosocial
and One Health paradigms. Drawing upon historical and intellectual sources, it
situates these paradigm shifts within the broader evolution of medical
epistemology, social theory, and public health reform. The paper argues that
the biomedical model, founded upon nineteenth-century bacteriology and
laboratory medicine, achieved unparalleled success in disease control yet
imposed a mechanistic reductionism that marginalized psychological and social
determinants of health. The post–World War II decades witnessed a profound
epistemological reorientation, as scholars such as George Engel (1977) [11]
and Geoffrey Rose (1992) [23] challenged biological exclusivism and
proposed holistic models emphasizing system interdependence and human
subjectivity. The article adopts a historical-interpretive methodology,
integrating textual analysis of medical writings with contextual study of
sociocultural change. It concludes that these intellectual transitions not only
reshaped Western medicine’s self-understanding but also redefined the meaning
of “health” from the absence of disease to a multidimensional state of
physical, psychological, and social well-being.
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Pages:1-5
How to cite this article:
Dr. Lung-Tan Lu "Transforming of Western holistic health thought in the Twentieth Century: from the Biomedical Paradigm to One Health Models". International Journal of Medicine Research, Vol 11, Issue 1, 2026, Pages 1-5
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