Health, Healing, and Coherence

Health, Healing, and Coherence introduces a thought-provoking conceptual framework that redefines health not merely as the absence of disease but as the degree of coherence within a living system. In this short and accessible article, Peter I. Kattan proposes the healing variable H, representing the level of temporal and informational integration that allows biological and psychological systems to remain resilient across time. By presenting a simple mathematical model, the work explores how present experience, future purpose, and stress interact to influence healing and stability. The article suggests that hope, meaning, and emotional integration enhance coherence, while chronic stress and fragmentation diminish it. Bridging ideas from physiology, psychology, systems theory, and temporal dynamics, this work offers a fresh perspective on resilience, aging, immune regulation, and the deeper mechanisms underlying healing. This is a short 11-page article on this topic.