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2007
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whatbull01.GIF (199 bytes) Desired outcomes in Human Biology I

whatbull01.GIF (199 bytes) 2nd and 3rd year units in Anatomy and Human Biology
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whatbull01.GIF (199 bytes) What is Human Biology

Human Biology is concerned with understanding the human condition from a primarily biological point of view. It takes a holistic view - drawing together all the specialized disciplines that study humans and appreciating that for a full understanding we must do more than merely sum the parts. For convenience, it can be viewed as encompassing three broad areas:

whatbull01.GIF (199 bytes) The structure, function & development of the human body
whatbull01.GIF (199 bytes) The evolution, variation & ecology of humans
whatbull01.GIF (199 bytes) The interrelationships between biology and culture
The distinguishing feature of the discipline is its multidisciplinary approach, with a focus on the interrelationships and interactions between the multitude of disciplines that study humans. Our logo is an icon of these interacting disciplines, which are numerous, but include:
whatbull02.GIF (171 bytes) Evolution
whatbull02.GIF (171 bytes) Form & function
whatbull02.GIF (171 bytes) Genetics
whatbull02.GIF (171 bytes) Reproduction & development
whatbull02.GIF (171 bytes) Variation
whatbull02.GIF (171 bytes) Health & disease		 whatbull02.GIF (171 bytes) Primates
whatbull02.GIF (171 bytes) Biocultural interactions
whatbull02.GIF (171 bytes) Behaviour
whatbull02.GIF (171 bytes) Ecology
whatbull02.GIF (171 bytes) Palaeontology
whatbull02.GIF (171 bytes) Nutrition

Sciences can, for convenience, be categorized into two types. Most biological sciences are primarily reductionist in their approach, developing understanding of how things work by examining the components of life in ever-increasing detail.
Human Biology is characterized by a holistic approach, appreciating that life is more than the physical and chemical processes that underlay it. However, these views are relative - chemistry is a holistic science compared to sub-atomic physics - and a holistic approach cannot be effective without detailed knowledge. Human Biology must, like other sciences, have strong reductionist elements.
 Human Biologists are specialists - in bringing together the disparate sub-components that contribute to the human condition so that we can more fully understand how humans function and behave, and how these processes arose.
Related to this view of science is the distinction between proximate and ultimate causes of the human condition. "Why are humans intelligent?" can be answered from two extreme viewpoints.
The proximate answer might be "because they have a large and complex brain" but the ultimate answer might be "because of evolutionary advantages".
Human Biology is concerned with both the proximate and ultimate answers. For example, a Human Biological understanding of skin colour would not be complete without considering at least
A. the genetic, physiological and biochemical processes that determine skin colour pigments.
B. the impact of the external environment on skin pigments.
C. the evolutionary processes, especially natural selection and migration, that lead to differences in skin colour within and between populations.
D. the impact of human behaviour on skin colour variation.
E. the social and cultural practises, including for example mating patterns and stereotypical prejudices, that are dependent upon skin colour.

In this unit we continue the strong holistic tradition that marks Human Biology as a distinctive science, but we are aware of the importance of specialist knowledge for understanding interactions and interrelationships. We therefore attempt a balance between specialist reductionist knowledge and specialist generalist knowledge.

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page content: Julie Hill
last reviewed: 27/06/07