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Very Short Introductions #678
Human Physiology: A Very Short Introduction
Physiology is the science of life, and sets out to understand how living things work and what makes them distinct from the non-living. It considers how our bodies are supplied with energy, how they maintain their internal parameters, the ways in which we gather and process information, the ways we take action, and the creation of new generations.
This very short introduction explores the field of human physiology, considering how the body works, senses, reacts, and defends itself. As Jamie A. Davies shows, human life (and indeed, all life) is sustained by the interplay of a wide variety of physiological mechanisms and principles. He discusses the physiological experiments and research undertaken to understand these processes, and analyzes the ethical issues involved. He also considers the evolution of the scientific field itself, showing how enhanced understandings of physiological knowledge can help inform medical research and care.
This very short introduction explores the field of human physiology, considering how the body works, senses, reacts, and defends itself. As Jamie A. Davies shows, human life (and indeed, all life) is sustained by the interplay of a wide variety of physiological mechanisms and principles. He discusses the physiological experiments and research undertaken to understand these processes, and analyzes the ethical issues involved. He also considers the evolution of the scientific field itself, showing how enhanced understandings of physiological knowledge can help inform medical research and care.
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Published September 28, 2021
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September 24, 2023Here for the metabolic science stuff, particularly the history (which does get decent treatment in this book). I love dumb arguments between eco-Marxist theorists about social metabolism and metabolic rift, but also am really into Hannah Landecker and hokey STS fluff; because what do they mean when they're like “metabolism is not a metaphor”? I'm gonna find out.
So trying to dig in to literature like this accessible little intro and not be a completely ignorant ass when I stick my fingers in everyone else’s pot and wherever else they do not belong (which is the STS scholar’s job). I am bringing all the less-than half-understood things I learned into my dissertation, and who will stop me? Probably my advisor, but I will find a way.
I also want to point out the author Jamie Davies is involved in various sorts of engineering societies and research (which I think is really interesting, and speaks to Landecker's emphasis of metabolism's turn from energetics to information).
This is a little excerpt from a conference paper I gave that explains how physiology was of some interest to Marx and how ‘metaboism’ as a concept was taken up by Marx and later Marxist theorists of metabolism (largely drawing on Foster):
“According to John Bellamy Foster (2000), the term “metabolism” had been deployed in scientific literature since at least 1815. By the 1830s and 1840s, it was taken up by German physiologists to describe respiration and related material exchanges in the body. Liebig’s Animal Chemistry expanded the term to wider applications such as tissue degradation, though the emphasis on the material was inconsistent and supplemented at times with earlier theories of vitalism.
Julius Robert Mayer, known for being one of the first to formulate the conservation of energy a year before James Joule articulated the mechanical equivalent of heat, was a German chemist and physician who critiqued Liebig’s appeal to vitalism as unnecessary, asserting that “metabolism” alone was sufficient to explain energetics and the motion of organisms. Mayer’s work was championed by scientists Marx followed and studied closely, including the British physicist John Tyndall and German physiologist Theodor Schwann, who introduced the notion of cellular metabolism.
It was Leibeg’s Organic Chemistry in its Application to Agriculture and Physiology however, that most notably made an impression on Marx. Joan Martinez Alier highlights in a correspondence, “Marx wrote to Engels on February 13, 1866, that Liebig's agricultural chemistry was more important for the discussion on decreasing returns than all the economists put together.” Foster claims soil fertility depletion was the primary environmental concern of the 19th century in both Europe and North America, rivalled only by urban pollution, deforestation, and Malthusian preoccupations with overpopulation.
James Finlay Weir Johnston, who Marx called the “English Leibig,” travelled to North America to study its agriculture, notably commenting upon the significantly larger financial returns of New Brunswick and New York farmland compared to that of Upper Canada (now Ontario). But Johnston also noted the depleted soil conditions of New York farms. Many of the extracts from both Johnston’s and Liebig’s works that found their way into Marx’s notebooks around 1851 were primarily about possibilities of agricultural improvement, largely in the context of refuting Malthusianism. However, by the 1860s, Marx’s views on the matter were changing in step with Liebig’s to underscore capitalist agriculture’s degradation of the soil (Foster, 2020).
It was from these cluster of scientific issues – the conservation of energy, animal physiology, agricultural chemistry, and so on – that the metaphor of metabolism was turned towards describing human labour’s relationship with the environment. As animal metabolism traced the movement of energy and nutrients between organisms and parts of their environment like the soil, social metabolism traced the material and energy exchanges between human society and nature through production.”
Planning to write a paper on Johnston (the one Marx called the "English Liebig") for a CHA panel next year. Pretty excited about that.
So trying to dig in to literature like this accessible little intro and not be a completely ignorant ass when I stick my fingers in everyone else’s pot and wherever else they do not belong (which is the STS scholar’s job). I am bringing all the less-than half-understood things I learned into my dissertation, and who will stop me? Probably my advisor, but I will find a way.
I also want to point out the author Jamie Davies is involved in various sorts of engineering societies and research (which I think is really interesting, and speaks to Landecker's emphasis of metabolism's turn from energetics to information).
This is a little excerpt from a conference paper I gave that explains how physiology was of some interest to Marx and how ‘metaboism’ as a concept was taken up by Marx and later Marxist theorists of metabolism (largely drawing on Foster):
“According to John Bellamy Foster (2000), the term “metabolism” had been deployed in scientific literature since at least 1815. By the 1830s and 1840s, it was taken up by German physiologists to describe respiration and related material exchanges in the body. Liebig’s Animal Chemistry expanded the term to wider applications such as tissue degradation, though the emphasis on the material was inconsistent and supplemented at times with earlier theories of vitalism.
Julius Robert Mayer, known for being one of the first to formulate the conservation of energy a year before James Joule articulated the mechanical equivalent of heat, was a German chemist and physician who critiqued Liebig’s appeal to vitalism as unnecessary, asserting that “metabolism” alone was sufficient to explain energetics and the motion of organisms. Mayer’s work was championed by scientists Marx followed and studied closely, including the British physicist John Tyndall and German physiologist Theodor Schwann, who introduced the notion of cellular metabolism.
It was Leibeg’s Organic Chemistry in its Application to Agriculture and Physiology however, that most notably made an impression on Marx. Joan Martinez Alier highlights in a correspondence, “Marx wrote to Engels on February 13, 1866, that Liebig's agricultural chemistry was more important for the discussion on decreasing returns than all the economists put together.” Foster claims soil fertility depletion was the primary environmental concern of the 19th century in both Europe and North America, rivalled only by urban pollution, deforestation, and Malthusian preoccupations with overpopulation.
James Finlay Weir Johnston, who Marx called the “English Leibig,” travelled to North America to study its agriculture, notably commenting upon the significantly larger financial returns of New Brunswick and New York farmland compared to that of Upper Canada (now Ontario). But Johnston also noted the depleted soil conditions of New York farms. Many of the extracts from both Johnston’s and Liebig’s works that found their way into Marx’s notebooks around 1851 were primarily about possibilities of agricultural improvement, largely in the context of refuting Malthusianism. However, by the 1860s, Marx’s views on the matter were changing in step with Liebig’s to underscore capitalist agriculture’s degradation of the soil (Foster, 2020).
It was from these cluster of scientific issues – the conservation of energy, animal physiology, agricultural chemistry, and so on – that the metaphor of metabolism was turned towards describing human labour’s relationship with the environment. As animal metabolism traced the movement of energy and nutrients between organisms and parts of their environment like the soil, social metabolism traced the material and energy exchanges between human society and nature through production.”
Planning to write a paper on Johnston (the one Marx called the "English Liebig") for a CHA panel next year. Pretty excited about that.
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January 30, 2025I would have to read this another few times to actually remember most of it lol but it was a useful and interesting quick read!!! I was really happy bc I knew all of the stuff explained in the brain section yayyyy cognitive science I love you forever <3
December 29, 2021
Despite presenting physiology through the light of systems and cybernetics, a fundamental lens in the 21st century, I expected more. More than "almost" a classic narration of most body systems.
However, it's a parctical introduction to human physiology.
However, it's a parctical introduction to human physiology.
July 20, 2024
First, I wanted to give 3 stars, because it was very useful to practice the English terms (the more extensive lecture I attended was in German).
But unfortunately in the last chapter, the book revealed a profound lack of understanding for the selfish gene concept put forward by Richard Dawkins.
Since selfish genes are primarily about genetics, selection, behavior and evolution, it is inconsiderate of the readers’ time to put it in a physiology ‘very short introduction’ book.
I could’ve accepted that the author wanted to inspire readers to move on to this truly fascinating subject for their next book, but his words were actually rather critical of Dawkins’ theory.
It actually seemed like the author had a personal interest to find an argument against Dawkins’ theory. However, he could not find a valid one. Instead, he displayed his own misinterpretation.
(E.g. He deems selfish a metaphor and wrongly says that the theory claims biology is hyper-competitive at *all* levels.)
This section, as well as others, was not neutrally phrased but rather emotionally and with a personal evaluation that is not becoming of a basic science book.
The musings on the reasons for the sexual cycle length in humans and why humans are polyestrous with spontaneous ovulations and menses in the first place are outdated.
Also, head size is no longer considered the reason for human offspring being born relatively early compared to other mammals. (Since wider hips have been shown to be of no disadvantage for e.g. walking, selection pressure for wider pelvises permitting a later birth would’ve been ok. Nowadays, energy requirements are often used as explanation for the ‘premature’ birth.)
I suggest readers take all neurobiological aspects in this book and the section on reproduction with a grain of salt and read up on those topics in more recent publications. And obviously, I recommend ‘The Selfish Gene’ and ‘The Extended Phenotype’ for demanding reads to gain clarity about selfish genes.
But unfortunately in the last chapter, the book revealed a profound lack of understanding for the selfish gene concept put forward by Richard Dawkins.
Since selfish genes are primarily about genetics, selection, behavior and evolution, it is inconsiderate of the readers’ time to put it in a physiology ‘very short introduction’ book.
I could’ve accepted that the author wanted to inspire readers to move on to this truly fascinating subject for their next book, but his words were actually rather critical of Dawkins’ theory.
It actually seemed like the author had a personal interest to find an argument against Dawkins’ theory. However, he could not find a valid one. Instead, he displayed his own misinterpretation.
(E.g. He deems selfish a metaphor and wrongly says that the theory claims biology is hyper-competitive at *all* levels.)
This section, as well as others, was not neutrally phrased but rather emotionally and with a personal evaluation that is not becoming of a basic science book.
The musings on the reasons for the sexual cycle length in humans and why humans are polyestrous with spontaneous ovulations and menses in the first place are outdated.
Also, head size is no longer considered the reason for human offspring being born relatively early compared to other mammals. (Since wider hips have been shown to be of no disadvantage for e.g. walking, selection pressure for wider pelvises permitting a later birth would’ve been ok. Nowadays, energy requirements are often used as explanation for the ‘premature’ birth.)
I suggest readers take all neurobiological aspects in this book and the section on reproduction with a grain of salt and read up on those topics in more recent publications. And obviously, I recommend ‘The Selfish Gene’ and ‘The Extended Phenotype’ for demanding reads to gain clarity about selfish genes.
August 22, 2025
Human Physiology: A Very Short Introduction by Jamie A. Davies
BIBLIOGRAPHIC DETAILS:
-Print: Paperback only- COPYRIGHT: August 3, 2021; ; ISBN: 978-0198869887; PUBLISHER: Oxford University Press; LENGTH: 168 pages
-Digital: COPYRIGHT: May 27, 2021; ISBN: 0198869886; PUBLISHER: Oxford University Press; LENGTH: 168 pages; FILE SIZE: 3051 KB
*Audio: COPYRIGHT: September 27, 2021; PUBLISHER: Tantor Media, Inc.; DURATION: Approx. 4 hours; Unabridged (Libby LAPL MP3)
SERIES: Very Short Introductions
SUMMARY/ EVALUATION:
Selection: After reading a little about Anatomy, it seemed prudent to read a little about Physiology
About: How the body works.
Liked: The book is well organized; it covers a lot while being brief.
Disliked: The narration was a little challenging to adjust to.
Overall: It was fascinating and educational.
AUTHOR: (From Wikipedia)
Jamie A Davies : “Jamie A. Davies is a British scientist, Professor of Experimental Anatomy at the University of Edinburgh, and leader of a laboratory in its Centre for Integrative Physiology.[1] He works in the fields of Developmental biology, Synthetic biology, and Tissue engineering. He is also Principal Investigator for the IUPHAR/BPS Guide to Pharmacology database.”
NARRATOR: (From Tanto Media)
Bruce Mann: “Bruce Mann is an award-winning voice artist and actor. He was born in the UK and now lives in California. His awards include several AudioFile Earphones Awards, two Audie nominations, and an AudioFile Excellence Award.
Bruce began his audiobook career in 2001 with a recording of the classic Red Badge of Courage. His audiobook highlights include Two Crafty Criminals by bestselling author Philip Pullman, Tales of the Peculiar by Ransom Riggs (with Simon Callow) and Equilateral by the award-winning Ken Kalfus. Of all his recordings, his personal favorite is the classic Turn of the Screw by Henry James.
Bruce trained at London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and has also studied with several eminent voice and acting teachers. In addition to his voice-over work, Bruce is also a busy theater and film actor and has appeared in theaters throughout the UK, Europe, and in the USA. He has featured on both British and American television and has appeared in several feature films. He has also directed and produced a variety of audiobooks by authors including George R. R. Martin, Salman Rushdie, Neil Gaiman, Terry Brooks, Tanith Lee, and Janet Evanovich.
When not acting, Bruce is a keen musician, and has played Hammond Organ or bass guitar in many rock and blues bands. He is also a published songwriter with numerous credits. Bruce holds three degrees from the University of Cambridge, and more recently received his PhD. He is an experienced and skilled editor and proofreader of academic texts.”
GENRE: Nonfiction; Science; Medical
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Human Physiology; Energy; Homeostasis; Sensation; Reacting & Thinking; From Thought to Action; Defense; Reproduction
EXCERPT: (From Chapter 1)
“The scope of human physiology
Human physiology is the science of how the body works. As a science, physiology helps us to understand what our bodies are and to enrich our knowledge of what it is to be alive, of what it is to be human. As well as telling us how our bodies work, physiological knowledge is important to keeping them working in the event of injury or disease. Physiology is one of the four intellectual foundations of modern medicine, the others being anatomy, biochemistry, and pathology.
Anatomy and biochemistry focus on the material nature of the body, anatomy concerning itself with parts and their arrangements, and biochemistry with the molecules of life and how they interact. The subject matters of anatomy and biochemistry exist whether the body is living or freshly dead; that is why anatomists can do their research by examining cadavers and biochemists can perform useful analyses on liquefied extracts of tissues.
Physiologists, on the other hand, deal with processes that exist only in the living, because they work not so much on what body parts are, as on what they do. In that sense, physiology has a greater claim to being the science of life than any other field. Generally, physiology is taken to be the study of the workings of a healthy body, the processes associated with ill-health and disease being the province of pathology. The boundaries between these two subjects are often indistinct, especially when they consider the interaction between diseases and the natural defences of the body (Chapter 7). There are also very strong links between physiology and biochemistry, because the functions and systems that underlie physiological actions depend ultimately on the interactions between the chemicals of which living things are made. Similarly, many physiological processes work only because tissues exist in a precise anatomical arrangement, and anatomy and physiology can often be understood only together. There will be several examples of this later in this book. Physiology as a topic and as a method of working can be applied to any living organism and, while this book limits itself to human physiology, there are plenty of researchers who devote their lives to the physiology of trees or mushrooms or cuttlefish. In these organisms, too, they find much that is fascinating and important.”
RATING:
5 stars
STARTED READING – FINISHED READING
4/12/23 to 4/21/23
BIBLIOGRAPHIC DETAILS:
-Print: Paperback only- COPYRIGHT: August 3, 2021; ; ISBN: 978-0198869887; PUBLISHER: Oxford University Press; LENGTH: 168 pages
-Digital: COPYRIGHT: May 27, 2021; ISBN: 0198869886; PUBLISHER: Oxford University Press; LENGTH: 168 pages; FILE SIZE: 3051 KB
*Audio: COPYRIGHT: September 27, 2021; PUBLISHER: Tantor Media, Inc.; DURATION: Approx. 4 hours; Unabridged (Libby LAPL MP3)
SERIES: Very Short Introductions
SUMMARY/ EVALUATION:
Selection: After reading a little about Anatomy, it seemed prudent to read a little about Physiology
About: How the body works.
Liked: The book is well organized; it covers a lot while being brief.
Disliked: The narration was a little challenging to adjust to.
Overall: It was fascinating and educational.
AUTHOR: (From Wikipedia)
Jamie A Davies : “Jamie A. Davies is a British scientist, Professor of Experimental Anatomy at the University of Edinburgh, and leader of a laboratory in its Centre for Integrative Physiology.[1] He works in the fields of Developmental biology, Synthetic biology, and Tissue engineering. He is also Principal Investigator for the IUPHAR/BPS Guide to Pharmacology database.”
NARRATOR: (From Tanto Media)
Bruce Mann: “Bruce Mann is an award-winning voice artist and actor. He was born in the UK and now lives in California. His awards include several AudioFile Earphones Awards, two Audie nominations, and an AudioFile Excellence Award.
Bruce began his audiobook career in 2001 with a recording of the classic Red Badge of Courage. His audiobook highlights include Two Crafty Criminals by bestselling author Philip Pullman, Tales of the Peculiar by Ransom Riggs (with Simon Callow) and Equilateral by the award-winning Ken Kalfus. Of all his recordings, his personal favorite is the classic Turn of the Screw by Henry James.
Bruce trained at London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and has also studied with several eminent voice and acting teachers. In addition to his voice-over work, Bruce is also a busy theater and film actor and has appeared in theaters throughout the UK, Europe, and in the USA. He has featured on both British and American television and has appeared in several feature films. He has also directed and produced a variety of audiobooks by authors including George R. R. Martin, Salman Rushdie, Neil Gaiman, Terry Brooks, Tanith Lee, and Janet Evanovich.
When not acting, Bruce is a keen musician, and has played Hammond Organ or bass guitar in many rock and blues bands. He is also a published songwriter with numerous credits. Bruce holds three degrees from the University of Cambridge, and more recently received his PhD. He is an experienced and skilled editor and proofreader of academic texts.”
GENRE: Nonfiction; Science; Medical
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Human Physiology; Energy; Homeostasis; Sensation; Reacting & Thinking; From Thought to Action; Defense; Reproduction
EXCERPT: (From Chapter 1)
“The scope of human physiology
Human physiology is the science of how the body works. As a science, physiology helps us to understand what our bodies are and to enrich our knowledge of what it is to be alive, of what it is to be human. As well as telling us how our bodies work, physiological knowledge is important to keeping them working in the event of injury or disease. Physiology is one of the four intellectual foundations of modern medicine, the others being anatomy, biochemistry, and pathology.
Anatomy and biochemistry focus on the material nature of the body, anatomy concerning itself with parts and their arrangements, and biochemistry with the molecules of life and how they interact. The subject matters of anatomy and biochemistry exist whether the body is living or freshly dead; that is why anatomists can do their research by examining cadavers and biochemists can perform useful analyses on liquefied extracts of tissues.
Physiologists, on the other hand, deal with processes that exist only in the living, because they work not so much on what body parts are, as on what they do. In that sense, physiology has a greater claim to being the science of life than any other field. Generally, physiology is taken to be the study of the workings of a healthy body, the processes associated with ill-health and disease being the province of pathology. The boundaries between these two subjects are often indistinct, especially when they consider the interaction between diseases and the natural defences of the body (Chapter 7). There are also very strong links between physiology and biochemistry, because the functions and systems that underlie physiological actions depend ultimately on the interactions between the chemicals of which living things are made. Similarly, many physiological processes work only because tissues exist in a precise anatomical arrangement, and anatomy and physiology can often be understood only together. There will be several examples of this later in this book. Physiology as a topic and as a method of working can be applied to any living organism and, while this book limits itself to human physiology, there are plenty of researchers who devote their lives to the physiology of trees or mushrooms or cuttlefish. In these organisms, too, they find much that is fascinating and important.”
RATING:
5 stars
STARTED READING – FINISHED READING
4/12/23 to 4/21/23
May 14, 2022
Lots of complex stuff explained in simple English, and it’s all fascinating.
May 22, 2024
I hope to be a bit smarter for reading this.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews