Humanity has dreamed of a permanent energy-saving organ, but the law of entropy has prevented it from being realized. While some argue that modern medicine causes unnecessary energy consumption and social disorder, medical advances have increased human lifespan, reduced suffering from disease, and contributed to social stability and order.
Humans have long dreamed of a device that can move permanently without energy input. If such a device could be invented, it would solve humanity’s long-standing problem of energy. However, until now, a permanent organ has never actually been invented. This is because it violates a scientific principle called the law of entropy. Entropy is a measure of the disorder of matter and energy, and according to the law of entropy, all matter and energy can only change from useful to useless, from ordered to disordered.
Jeremy Rifkin, a world-renowned American economist, applies these scientific principles to society. He argues that over the past 200 years, society has become more chaotic and disorganized, not more advanced, with the development of science and technology. He even cites modern medicine as a factor that unnecessarily increases entropy. So, is modern medicine really an unnecessary drain on energy and an increase in social disorder, and should humanity stop further medical advances and return to the old ways of medicine? I don’t think so.
First, modern medicine has dramatically increased the average human lifespan. In Korea, we have a special birthday custom called “hwan gap”. In the Joseon Dynasty, when the average life expectancy was barely 40 years old, reaching 60 was a big milestone, and people celebrated with wild rice and silk clothes. Today, however, the scale of the celebration has shrunk to the point where it’s a modest family affair. This is because life expectancy has increased so much that 60 is no longer considered a long life. According to the National Statistics Portal, the average life expectancy of South Koreans increased from 65.5 years in 1970 to 81.94 years in 2013. That’s 15 more years of life in just 30 years. This increase in longevity has helped people feel more psychologically stable and free of death anxiety.
However, some argue that modern medicine has contributed little to the increase in life expectancy. They say that improved hygiene and nutrition are the main factors. However, studies have shown that the biggest impact on the increase in life expectancy in South Korea has been the reduction in tuberculosis mortality among young adults due to the development of modern medicine. The number of TB cases has decreased thanks to vaccinations, and effective anti-TB drugs have made it easier to treat the disease. Whereas in the past, TB could only be treated with primitive methods such as breathing fresh air, today it can be cured with medication. Both these vaccinations and medications are achievements of modern medicine, and the increase in life expectancy is undeniable.
Improved sanitation and nutrition alone cannot fully explain this increase, as evidenced by the fact that the average life expectancy of Joseon kings was only 46 years old. It’s not just the increase in longevity, but also the increase in healthy life expectancy, which is the number of years of healthy life excluding periods of illness or injury. Healthy life expectancy, which was 71 years in 2007, increased to 73 years in 2012, indicating that advances in modern medicine have made a significant contribution to this increase.
Second, modern medical advances have greatly reduced suffering from disease. Take the case of Hansen’s disease. Hansen’s disease is a chronic infectious disease caused by a fungus that causes eyebrows to fall out and skin and muscle damage. People with Hansen’s disease were called lepers, socially ostracized, and quarantined on the island of Sorokdo. In addition to the physical and psychological suffering they had to endure, today, if caught early and treated with a drug called rifampicin, Hansen’s disease can often be cured. This is thanks to advances in modern medicine, which have also reduced misconceptions and stigma about the disease, allowing patients to lead normal social lives. Thus, modern medicine has not only reduced the physical suffering caused by the disease, but has also contributed to reducing social disorder and disruption.
On the other hand, some argue that modern medicine has done little to reduce deaths from major diseases. The elimination of the 11 major plagues in the United States predates the introduction of medical treatments and is attributed to improved sanitation. However, this data was written in 1980, before the advent of advanced medical technology, and is not comparable to today’s modern healthcare. Furthermore, while not all illnesses are necessarily life-threatening, modern medicine has made everyday illnesses less painful. This is evident even in the most basic case of people going to the doctor when they are sick.
Modern medicine has become an indispensable part of today’s society, helping people to overcome congenital or acquired disabilities. Medical advances have reduced people’s physical and mental suffering, which in turn has reduced social disorder and chaos. If we were to stop medical advancements and go back to the old ways, we would be inviting social chaos and disorder.
Some critics argue that too much energy and resources go into the healthcare industry, leading to increased entropy. The overuse of high-tech diagnostic and therapeutic devices is causing healthcare costs per patient to skyrocket. However, the introduction of new technologies always comes with a temporary increase in costs, and medical progress continues because the benefits far outweigh the costs. This argument is not valid in developed countries with health insurance systems. Modern healthcare is covered as a welfare benefit at the national level, and systems are in place to ensure that people can benefit from it.
Some critics also point to “treatment-induced illness” as a problem with modern healthcare. For example, unnecessary surgeries or prescriptions that create new problems for patients. However, this is an ethical issue for doctors, and in the modern world, patients are able to share information with each other and keep doctors in check through internet communities and social media. They can also report overtreatment to the health center where the hospital is located. This creates an environment where doctors have no choice but to treat patients with care.
So, despite its critics, modern medicine is a net function and should continue to evolve. There are arguments that modern medicine consumes energy and increases entropy, but this only shows how important it is. On the contrary, without modern medicine, there would be even greater chaos and disorder. So instead of worrying about the entropy that modern healthcare creates, it’s better to look for ways to make it more accessible to more people.
