Current textbooks provide a strong bio-medical view on epidemics. In this textbook, the bio-medical view will be extended to a human view including insights from humanities, social sciences. This extension challenges us all the more to combine the requirement of scientific objectivity with the subjectivity inherent to human life. In addition, the bio-medical view is deepened using knowledge of botanical epidemiology with respect to ‘evolutionary dynamics of pathogens’ and ‘epidemic spread of pathogens’. Bio-medical oriented students and senior scientists are invited to reflect on the multi-dimensional, subjective, character of epidemics. Reflections that may enable appropriate, human, management of epidemics.