Ancestral Concepts of Human Genetics and Molecular Medicine in Epicurean Philosophy

Abstract

Human genetics and molecular medicine are scientific fields that evolved during the last century. Nevertheless, less known is the fact that over two millennia ago mankind had grasped the concepts of the molecular basis of life in health and disease, in addition to the basic laws of heredity. It was the influence of the Epicurean philosophy that led some exceptional people of the ancient Hellenistic and Roman eras in observing human nature and proposing some notions that were discovered as scientific facts only recently. The founder of this humanistic philosophy was Epicurus of Athens (341–270 bc) who combined the atomic physics of Democritus with the naturalistic ethics of Aristotle. Epicurus suggested that eternal atoms (“atomoi”) continuously combine by necessity and chance forming “bodies” (“onkoi”) or molecules which produce worlds, mountains and evolving living organisms. He proposed that any given arrangement of atoms within a molecular structure confers new qualities to the molecule. Unlike Aristotle who believed that only males contributed in heredity, from observation of families Epicurus inferred that males and females equally contributed hereditary material to their progeny. According to the Roman Epicurean philosopher Lucretius (95–45 bc), Epicurus described dominant, recessive and co-dominant types of inheritance. The Epicurean physician Asclepiades of Bithynia (124–40 bc) suggested that diseases are caused by alteration of form or position of a patient’s molecules. He introduced the psychological support of all patients as well as the distinction of diseases into acute and chronic ones, based on an observation of Epicurus regarding acute and chronic pains. One of the followers of Asclepiades’ molecular medicine was the Greek physician Soranus of Ephesus (first to second century ad), known as the father of gynaecology and paediatrics. He described congenital malformations as well as hereditary conditions such as mental disorders in materialistic terms without any supernatural prejudice.