My Book Pick: Body by Darwin
- Director, Kayukawa Clinic, Yuhei Kayukawa, M.D.
- Jul 16
- 1 min read
Updated: Jul 31
Aichi Insurance Physicians’ Newspaper
May 2018
Jeremy Taylor
The University of Chicago Press
304 pages | 2015 | $33.00
Science writers are masters at bringing complex topics vividly to life. This book is organized into seven chapters: Autoimmune Diseases and Allergies, Infertility, Back Pain, Eye Diseases, Cancer, Heart Disease, and Alzheimer's Disease.
Taylor introduces a series of bold hypotheses grounded in evolutionary biology, particularly from the perspectives of phylogeny and ontogeny. His central arguments are threefold. First, evolution maximizes reproductive success rather than health, meaning that “what keeps you alive when you are young may eventually contribute to your death in old age.” Second, biological evolution proceeds far more slowly than cultural change, creating a mismatch between our bodies and modern environments that gives rise to many diseases. Third, although most human diseases involve genetic variation, these variations interact with other genes and environmental factors, making disease an inevitable part of human existence.
The primary mission of medicine is, of course, to treat disease. Yet Taylor challenges the conventional mechanistic view that illness can be solved simply by removing harmful agents or diseased tissues.
From the perspective of evolutionary medicine, he argues that our fundamental understanding of disease and its treatment deserves to be reconsidered.
The Japanese title, How Human Evolution Created Disease, may be somewhat misleading. The original title, How Evolution Shapes Our Health and Transforms Medicine, more accurately reflects the book's broader message. Regardless of the title, the book is intellectually stimulating and offers fresh insights that challenge conventional medical thinking.
