Edgar Morin, the complex thought and medicine.

Dear Editor,

The analysis of the ongoing pandemic highlights the decisive role of the internist in the interdisciplinary management of patients with SARS-COV2 infection.

The internist is a sort of “Deus ex machina” in the approach to systemic complications (pulmonary, vascular, cutaneous, haematological, to name but a few). The habit of using complex thought and the unrelenting search for a multidisciplinary approach are typical of the internal medicine specialist, although unfortunately his role is sometimes neglected by health systems that tend to favour individual organ specialists, inducing an excessive fragmentation of the clinical approach.

The leading theorist of complex thought is the philosopher and sociologist Edgar Morin. Nearly 30 years ago, he published a monumental series entitled “La Méthode”, in which he hypothesized a new epistemological method, the “pensée complexe” (complex thought). This intuition led to the overthrowing of Cartesian dualism and of reductionist thought, thus offering arguably the best approach to understanding the world and humankind in all its diversity [1]. His message was recently carried forward by P. Croskerry, G. Reach and others [2], [3]. In this context, the internist can play a key role in replacing the simplistic and reductionist method regularly used in every day clinical practice.

It is necessary to abandon the “one size fits all” approach frequently used in therapy, and the overuse of “umbrella terms” such as COPD, Interstitial lung diseases and heart failure [4], [5]. This novel approach is comparable to the Copernican revolution - a real change in clinical method, and probably the best way to tackle diseases in the third millennium.

Human and animal rights

The authors declare that the work described has not involved experimentation on humans or animals.

Informed consent and patient details

The authors declare that the work described does not involve patients or volunteers.

Disclosure of interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interest.

Funding

This work did not receive any grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Author contributions

All authors attest that they meet the current International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) criteria for Authorship.