The GEM model of health: a model based on generalized empirical method – Part 2 – Background

Abstract

In this paper I discuss background issues of worldview and method that underlie the GEM model of health. First, I present Bernard Lonergan’s account of emergent probability, a differentiated and developmental worldview that stands in sharp contrast to the inadequately differentiated viewpoints of materialism and dualism discussed in Part 1. This opens up a new way for the GEM model to approach questions of health that stands in sharp contrast to the way that the standard biomedical model and alternative hybrid models approach these questions. Second, I present Lonergan’s account of generalized empirical method, a unified method for investigating the natural and historical dimensions of the world in which we live and seek to thrive.