What does ‘apithological’ mean?

The description ‘apithological’ is commonly used to suggest a counterpart concept, or quality, to the pathological. Its explicit use often points us to an alternative horizon of possible inquiry.

However, to define something by what it isn’t, does not say what it is. To make statements about the ‘apithology’ of something does require that an inquiry to be done using the theory of apithology.

The descriptor apithological may also be used as an ‘attribution by association’. This use is acceptable, only it does not say anything of significance, other than in indicating the general direction of a personal preference. It is similar to describing something as ‘sustainable’ without using an informing conception of sustainability.

There is also a technical use of the term ‘apithological’ in formal apithology theory which describes when an analysis of a given phenomenon has attributes of sufficiency in an apithology inquiry. This involves being able to specify formal requirements; including the apithologia of generative trichotomies, the composition of expressions of orientations, and the points of integrative dependencies in a trajectory of actuation. In this formal context, the determination of apithological forms has a research rigour verifiable by a community of apithology practice.

What is the definition of apithology?

It is helpful to recognise the difference between the definitions of apithology as a concept, the field of apithology research, and the discipline of apithology as a formal inquiry praxis.

For those needing a simple definition of the concept the formal reference is:

api·thol·o·gy (a pith l -j ) n. pl. api·thol·o·gia

1. The systemic study of the nature of wellness and its causes, processes, development, and consequences.

Source: Varey, W. (2008) Apithology: An emergent continuum. Aspects of Apithology: The Journal of Apithological Practice. 1(1) p.3.

This definition is merely the antonym of the definition of pathology. It does not define the field, only the counterpart concept to pathology.


A formal description of the field of apithology research is:

“The research field of apithology concerns the study of the systemic causes and effects of generativity and growth in living systems. It is the counterpart discipline to the field of pathology, which examines the systemic causes and effects of dissipation and decline in degenerative systems.” (p. 596)

Source: Varey, W. (2013). Apithological Inquiry: Learnings from an Ecological Aesthetic. Systems Research and Behavioral Science30(5), 596-606.


The praxis of apithological inquiry is also a formal research discipline and may be described as:

“Apithology is the discipline that studies the generative causes of health and wellness in living systems.”

Source: Varey, W. (2008) Apithology: An emergent continuum. Aspects of Apithology: The Journal of Apithological Practice. 1(1) pp.1-7.


Footnote: Because apithology is the study of generative dynamics, the field itself is under continuous development. It is considered not particularly good apithology practice to propose definitive definitions for emergent processes. The reason for this is the phenomenon may have altered or moved on while our definition remains fixed. The desire for rigidity and certainty is not a useful function in apithology inquiry and observation. This is one reason why different definitions are used for the field of apithology as the field itself expands.

Interestingly, one early practice in formal apithology training is for practitioners to study their own definition of apithology – and then confirm which of 360 known categories of apithology conceptions it may fit within. This reveals important information about one’s own capacity for apithology inquiry and observation (and in particular, self-adopted categories of exclusion). For more information on this practice see: Aspects of Apithology,Vol.2.No.3.).


How do I reference apithology theory?

For those looking for a quick reference to the concept, without any further reading, the simplest way is to insert the following (APA Style) citation:

Varey, W. (2008). Apithology: An emergent continuum. Aspects of Apithology: Journal of Apithological Practice1(1), 1-7.

This original article is a re-print from a paper published on 16 October, 2004.

Being a short article (in a vast field) your use and understanding of the idea will be readily transparent from your use of this reference.

For the source of the concept (if interested) you can read and download the referenced article (in full) here: http://aspects.apithology.org/Aspects.Vol.1.No.1.pdf

Date: 12.04.2016