Family Systems Issue 2.2
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Table of Contents: 2.2
FROM THE EDITOR
Michael E. Kerr, MD
ARTICLES: Journal articles reflect natural systems thinking or are relevant to it. These may include concept papers as well as research studies.
THE FAMILY UNIT AND THE TRANSMISSION OF INDIVIDUAL VARIATION IN ADAPTIVENESS
Robert J. Noone, PhD
A premise derived from Bowen theory is that variation in the basic adaptiveness or lifetime fitness of individuals is based in a nonrandom multigenerational transmission process which includes, but involves more than, genetic transmission. Among humans, and probably other species, it involves an orderly relationship process which during prenatal and postnatal development shapes the overall responsiveness and functioning of individuals to their environment throughout the life course.
The nongenetic transmission of behavior is generally regarded as learned. Recent research related to maternal influence on the prenatal neuroendocrine development of offspring suggests that another phenotype transmission process is involved. It is posited that a third form of heritable variation, in addition to those of genetic and cultural transmission may exist and that it is consistent with and an element in the multigenerational transmission process defined in Bowen theory.
NATURAL SELECTION, TECHNOLOGY, AND ANXIETY
Patricia A. Comella, JD
Bowen family systems theory and Darwin’s theory of evolution are theories about relationship systems. Bowen family systems theory postulates that the human species is part of life on Earth and thereby shares an evolutionary inheritance with other species. Darwin’s theory of evolution postulates that the process of natural selection is a major contributor to the evolution of species. In responding to the forces of natural selection, members of some species, including the human species, make use of the knowledge they possess about the relationship systems to which they belong. Such knowledge extends to the making and use of tools to gain selective advantage, technological innovation, and intergenerational transmission of knowledge by nongenetic (cultural) means.
In this paper, the author explores the emotional roots of human technology and culture as adaptive responses to the forces of natural selection. The paper represents the author’s efforts to place human technology and culture within the context of natural selection so as to neither exalt them for the benefits they have conferred in the form of the human’s unparalleled success in niche occupation nor denigrate them for the costs they have imposed in the form of environmental degradation which seems to challenge Earth’s capacity to recover.
RELATIONSHIPS AS PRIMARY REGULATORS OF PHYSIOLOGY
Louise Rauseo, RN, MS
Individual physiology is regulated by factors in the relationship system. While most studies address relationship factors in concepts such as "social support" or "stress," knowledge of the relationship system is central to understanding changes in the physiology of an individual. This paper proposes that, under certain conditions, all aspects of human physiology can be sensitive to and regulated in the relationship system.
A selected review of human and mammal literature illustrates ways in which physiology varies with factors in the social unit or family group. The physiological mechanisms underpinning this process are described. Bowen family systems theory is proposed as a framework broad enough for conceptualizing the various findings by defining the conditions under which physiology is regulated more by relationships than by autonomous factors.
FROM THE ARCHIVES: A special feature of Family Systems is a previously unpublished manuscript by Murray Bowen and other researchers in the family field..
CLINICAL VIEW OF THE FAMILY
Murray Bowen, MD
Introduction by Catherine Murphy Rakow, MSW
In formulating universal theoretical concepts that could add to the knowledge base of human behavior, Dr. Bowen researched adaptations in human families. Concurrent with the research on families with a schizophrenic member from 1954 to 1959 at the National Institute of Mental Health he studied alcoholism and delinquency, and closely followed changes in societal process.
Schizophrenia is persistent within populations over time. What factors sustain this persistence? A common view is that the etiology of schizophrenia resides within the individual. Intervention with the individual is a time honored method. In 1957, Bowen wrote that it would not be new facts about schizophrenia that would unlock its mysteries. It would be a new way of considering those facts already known that would provide understanding. Schizophrenia as an outcome of emotional patterns of a family across multiple generations poses a dilemma reminiscent of the struggle in science to understand the means by which species evolve and become extinct. A broader lens and a paradigm shift would be needed.
FACULTY CASE CONFERENCE: Presentation of a faculty clinical case, followed by a discussion with faculty members of the Bowen Center.
Presenter: Michael E. Kerr, MD (no title)
This case was presented as an example of the possible role of emotional process in the development and clinical course of cancer. It is unusual in this therapist’s clinical experience because the cancer was diagnosed after the individual had been in family psychotherapy for a time.
BOOK REVIEWS: Reviews on books relevant to Bowen theory and its many applications.
THE FIFTH DISCIPLINE: THE ART AND PRACTICE OF THE LEARNING ORGANIZATION
Peter M. Senge
Reviewed by Daniel V. Papero, PhD
NATURALIST
Edward O. Wilson
Reviewed by Ann Jones, PhD