https://doi.org/10.31261/CHOWANNA.2002.18.01
In the introductory article of the current issue of „Chowanna”, the author introduces readers to the topic of health, which is commonly associated more with medical sciences than with the humanities. In recent years, however, there has been a growing interest in the broadly understood issue of health also within the field of social sciences, although this interest has, in fact, a centuries-long tradition. This growing attention is linked to the increasing emphasis on the importance of environmental factors, lifestyle, psychological and cultural aspects, and socio-economic conditions — not just genetics — as determinants of health and illness. It seems that the interest of non-medical sciences in health and illness will contribute to a complementary approach to these issues from a broad, interdisciplinary perspective. It is worth noting, however, that the concepts of health and illness are interpreted in various ways, which creates methodological challenges. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as a positive state (well-being) of physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely as the absence of disease or infirmity, emphasizing the subjective feeling of well-being, which does not necessarily align with the medical assessment of an individual’s health status. Illness, when considered from a medical perspective, takes on a different dimension than when viewed through the lens of social behavior, as in the concept by T. Parsons (1969), where illness is defined as a form of social deviance due to an individual's inability to fulfill social roles and participate in the multifaceted social life.
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Vol. 1 No. 18 (2002)
Published: 2025-08-18
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