About Apithology

Origins and History  

The field of apithology was established on 16 October 2004. After more than a decade of research and practice Apitholo - the Centre for Humanity Learning was opened. Apitholo provides a dedicated place of learning for those practicing in the field of apithology. It also holds all of the archives, texts, forms and artefacts discovered in this field. Apitholo is now the primary location for the study and practice of apithology as it is applied to humanity nurturance. This specialist form of practice now is being made available to the public.

Definitions

Apithology is the discipline that studies the generative causes of health and wellness in living systems. Apithology is not a concept, it is a research practice. The premise of apithology research describes what to look at, why those specific features of interest, and how to uniquely do this. To provide opinions, definitions and descriptions in the field of apithology does require formal study.

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.” (Varey, 2013, p. 596)

Citation: Varey, W. (2013). Apithological Inquiry: Learnings from an Ecological Aesthetic. Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 30(5), 596-606.

Learning Theory

The learning that occurs in the field of apithology is called apithagogy. Apithagogy is the area of generative learning that is concerned with how a humanity learns. It has an inter-dependency with the learning forms of pedagogy, andragogy and pandragogy. This is described as ‘generative humanity learning’. The distinctiveness of this field is understood by the following example:

“We would not design the pedagogy for the child to create an absence in the andragogy needs of the adult. We would not knowingly design the andragogy path of the adult to create an absence in the pandragogy needs of the lifelong learner. Similarly, we would not design the pandragogy principles of new learning to create an absence in the learning needs of a future humanity. Apithagogy is an inquiry into learning to discover the learning needs of a changing humanity as it learns about itself.”  (Varey, 2015).

Research Journal

Research in the field of apithology is made available publicly when presented at conferences and international seminars. More formal research applicable to those with an apithology research practice is published in: Aspects of Apithology: The Journal of Apithological Practice (ISSN 1836-585X). The Journal is published as collations of five articles under an open community peer review process. Presently, the Journal contains ten volumes from 2008-2023. Access to this publication is for subscribers actively learning within the apithology practice community.