CONNECTING BOWEN-THEORY WITH ITS HUMAN ORIGINS

Murray Bowen recognized the importance of grounding clinical practice within a clearly articulated theoretical framework, which could claim its place within the general scientific tradition. Bowen theory has es tablished itself as a significant contribution to the field of family therapy. However in its insistence on excluding, in the interests of r igorous inquiry, all contributions except those fi om a natural scienc e perspective, Bowen theory has neglected the very elements that are t he identifying characteristics of Homo sapiens. As well as recognizing the common systemic characteristics of all life forms, a theory of th e family and family therapy that does justice to the human condition w ill also need to attend to the ways in which human systems are distinc t from those of other life forms. In this enterprise, the social scien ces will be as important as the natural sciences.