SOCH111 History of Healing · PDF file(subjective and objective) ... o 1813 typhoid epidemic...

SOCH111 – History of Healing

www.endeavour.edu.au

Session 17

Homeopathic Medicine

Department of Social

Sciences

© Endeavour College of Natural Health www.endeavour.edu.au 2

Session Aims

o To trace the roots and development of

homeopathic medicine parallel to conventional

medicine from the late 1700’s to the early 1900’s

o To define the basic theoretical and philosophical

premises of homeopathic medicine

o To examine the similarities and differences in

how homeopathy has culturally established itself

in different countries across the globe


Back to Paracelsus

o Alchemist, as taught by Benedictine

monks and learned through his

personal experience

o Believed above all in observed

personal experience as a source of

knowledge rather than academic

learning

o Believed all matter is alive,

including minerals and stones

o Both materialistic and vitalistic,

above all holistic

Public Domain,

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=43352


Paracelsus

o Created three element classification: mercury, sulphur and salt, used in alchemy

o “basically there are only three kinds of medicine and three kinds of illness… each medicus will remember to give mercury to mercurial diseases, salt to saline diseases, sulphur to sulphuricdiseases” (Grossinger 1995, p.282)

o Father of chemistry, also incorporated astrology and vitalisticphilosophy

o Used small doses of poisons to stimulate healing

By Rob Lavinsky, iRocks.com –

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Samuel Hahnemann

o 1755 – 1843

o 3rd of 5 children

o Father was a German porcelain

painter

o Devoted to study from a young age

despite his father wanting him to

learn a trade

o Gifted in languages, tutoring by age

13, ultimately translated over 20

major scientific and medical texts

o Obtained degree in medicine in 1779CC

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hahne

mann.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hahnemann.jpg


Hahnemann’s Contemporaries

o Bloodletting

o Leeches

o Purging/emesis

o Toxic substances

o Primitive surgeries

o Topical mineral applications

o Ingestion of minerals

o Exhalation and perspiration

o Fontanels and setonsCC

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/

File:Blood_letting.jpg

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blood_letting.jpg


Abandons Medical Practice

“My sense of duty would not easily allow me to

treat the unknown pathological state of my

suffering brethren with these unknown medicines.

The thought of becoming in this way a murderer or

malefactor towards the life of my fellow human

beings was most terrible to me, so terrible and

disturbing that I wholly gave up my practice in the

first years of my married life and occupied myself

solely with chemistry and writing.”Hahnemann (cited in Haehl 1992, chapter 8, paragraph 3)


Discovery of a New Principle o In 1790, while translating Cullen’s herbal materia

medica, Hahnemann noted Cinchona’s use in

intermittent fever (malaria) was attributed to its bitter

and astringent properties (which were said to drain the

choleric humour)

o Knowing a dozen other equally bitter herbs that didn’t

affect intermittent fever, Hahnemann questioned this

rationale

o He subsequently started the first systematic drug trials

in Western medicine

o He published ‘Essay on a New Principle’ in 1796

proposing ‘similars’ as a theory of treatment


The Principle of Similars

o Similia similibus curantur

• Latin: ‘likes are cured by

likes’

• The principle states that any

drug capable of producing

morbid symptoms in a

healthy person will remove

similar symptoms that are

occurring as an expression

of disease.

o Similimum

• The most similar medicine By Franz Eugen Köhler, Köhler's

Medizinal-Pflanzen - Public Domain,

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ex.php?curid=255519



Human Trials

o Hahnemann created a method for some of the first

clinical trials in medicine, which he named

‘provings’

o Began by giving healthy people doses of medicinal

substances in order to observe the effects of the

substance

o Rejected the existing materia medicas, which were

based on humoral theories, supposition, doctrine of

signatures and traditional uses, and aimed to

create a new materia medica, based on his method

of scientific research


Empiricism and Rationalism

o Empirical methods utilised by Hahnemann involved

systematic testing of substances and direct

observation of their effects as symptoms

(subjective and objective) without reference to

either cause of disease or mechanism by which

symptoms were produced

o Rationalism at the time was focused on theories

about how the body works, both in health and

disease, and applying those theories to diagnose

and classify diseases and apply treatments

theoretically suited


Return to Practice

o Around 1800, Hahnemann

returned to medical practice,

using homeopathic treatment

methods based on ‘similars’

o In 1810, wrote the first edition of

‘The Organon of Rational

Healing’ to teach medical

practitioners his new method

o In 1811, started teaching at the

University of Leipzig, attracting a

small group of unorthodox young

medical studentsBy Source, Fair use,

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/ind

ex.php?curid=30309196

https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30309196


Homeopathy

o Word derived from the Greek homoios (similar) and pathos (suffering)

o Used to differentiate from other medicines that are contraries, called “allopathy” meaning “opposite suffering”

o The term first appeared in print in 1807

By AgnosticPreachersKid -

Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,





Dynamic Medicine

o Hahnemann gradually

started to experiment with

dilution of remedies as a

means to reduce toxic

side effects of similar

medicines

o His philosophy became

increasingly vitalistic,

prescribing dynamic

medicines for his dynamic

conception of the seat of

disease, the vital force By Wikidudeman - Own work,

Public Domain,





Homeopathy Gains Validity

o 1813 typhoid epidemic in

Leipzig, Hahnemann

treated 180 victims with

homeopathy, only 1 death

o 1812 scarlet fever epidemic

reduced in severity by use

of homeopathic Belladonna

o 1831 & 1854 cholera

epidemics, homeopathy

showed much greater

success than conventional

medicines

By Original uploader was Estreya at

en.wikipedia|Permission=CC-BY-2.5; GFDL,

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?curid=10714448



Hahnemann’s Vision of Health

In the healthy condition of man, the spiritual vital

force (autocracy), the dynamis that animates the

material body (organism), rules with unbounded

sway, and retains all the parts of the organism in

admirable, harmonious, vital operation, as

regards both sensations and functions, so that

our indwelling, reason-gifted mind can freely

employ this living, healthy instrument for the

higher purposes of our existence.Organon of Medicine, Aphorism 9


Revision Questions

o State the law of similars and give one example.

o Outline Hahnemann’s method of conducting

empirical clinical trials.

Other food for thought:o Considering the medical thought and practice in

Hahnemann’s time and his approach to creating a

new system of medicine, why did his approach

garner opposition?


Concepts Seen in Homeopathy

o Law of Similars: like cures like

o Minute Dose: sequential dilution

o Potentisation: dilution plus succussion

o Minimum Dose: dose minimum number of times

o Provings: trials using inductive reasoning

o Totality of Symptoms: the whole symptom picture

o Individuality: the individualised nature of illness

o Vital Force: what cures disease

o Single Remedy: one best match


Minute Dose: Dilution

o Treatment involves small doses

of a natural substance, which

amplifies the beneficial effects of

the medicine whilst removing

any toxicity

o Soluble substance are prepared

into mother tinctures, using

similar processes to herbal

tinctures/extractions

o Mother tinctures are diluted to

create homeopathic remedies of

different potencies

Image © Microsoft


Potentisation

o Hahnemann discovered that dilution combined with

succussion (vigorous shaking) increased a

substance’s medicinal effect

o Created new “dynamised” medicines

o Continued to experiment with different methods of

dilution and succussion to improve results

o Possibly the succussion idea was a combination of

chemistry and alchemy concepts


Minimum Dose

Aphorism 277:

“For the same reason [§275], since a well-

dynamised medicine whose dose is properly

small becomes all the more curative and

helpful-almost to the point of wonder-the more

homeopathically it was searched out, it follows

that a medicine whose apt selection has been

homeopathically hit upon must also be all-the-

more curative the more its dose descends to

the appropriate degree of smallness for gentle

aid.”(Hahnemann 1996, p.250)


Provings

o Unique to homeopathy

o Still used today to establish new

remedies on an ongoing basis

o Data derived from provings

provides the basis for the

homeopathic materia medica and

repertories

o The high toxicity of some

substances results in remedy

pictures being established using

only toxicology reports and clinical

use of potentised remediesBy Wikidudeman - en:James Tyler

Kent (1849-1916), Public Domain,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/

index.php?curid=2457222



Totality of Symptoms

o Holistic approach

o Look to the totality of

characteristic symptoms

of the disease on the

physical, mental and

emotional levels

o When the total symptom

picture is examined, it will

give a match to the

symptom picture of the

best remedy

Public Domain,




Individuality

o Holistic approach

o Look to the particular

manifestation of the

disease in a person

along with that person’s

particular constitutional

traits and tendencies

o Pay special attention to

what is unique in the

case

By VaughnSaball - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,

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urid=30047041



Vital Force

By Photography by Wikipedia

User:MrX, CC BY-SA 3.0,

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w/index.php?curid=38632806

o Remedy provides a specific

stimulus to the person’s vital

force in order to effect a

cure of the disease

o The body itself is correcting

the state of ill health, and

thus is strengthened

o Vital force is also relied

upon to keep the body well

when it is treated with care



Single Remedy

o Classical homeopathy

utilizes only one remedy

at a time, not a mixture

o Based on the theory that

a person can only suffer

from one disease at a

time, so all symptoms are

of the one disease, and

there will be one remedy

that matches that picture

By Yves - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,

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x.php?curid=2079977



Revision Questions

o Describe/explain the guiding concepts in

homeopathy.

o How were these concepts established?

Other food for thought:o What is your personal sense of the theory and

evidence underlying homeopathic medicine at this

stage?


Homeopathy Comes to America

o Introduced to the US in

the 1820s

o Developed a following

in New York and

amongst the Germans

in Pennsylvania

o Constantine Hering

came to Rhode Island in

1833 and became a

leader of homeopathy’s

growth in the US By Made by User:Golbez. - Own work, CC BY 2.5,


96180



Hering’s Rule of Cure

As a disease moves toward cure, symptoms

move from:

o Centre to periphery (deep to superficial)

o Head to hands and feet (top down)

o More vital organs to less

o In the reverse order in which they

developed (newest disappears first, oldest

last)


Homeopathy in America

o In 1844, the American

Institute of Homeopathy was

formed, the first national

medical organisation in the

US

o Intense rivalry with the

conventional medical

establishment

o Medical doctors prohibited to

use homeopathy, and

homeopathic physicians were

deregistered

By Unknown photographer - Drexel

University College of Medicine Archives

and Special Collections, Public Domain,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.p

hp?curid=10610841



Epidemics in America

o 1849 cholera epidemic in Cincinnati, homeopathic

patients had a 3% death rate compared to 48-60%

death rate for conventional patients

o 1878 yellow fever epidemic in southern US, death

rates in homeopathic patients were 1/3 the rate for

conventional patients

o 1918 flu epidemic, one report is that of over

26,000 homeopathic cases tracked, death rate

was only 1.05% vs. 30% in conventionally treated

cases


James Tyler Kent

o 1849 - 1916

o American eclectic doctor who

became a homeopath after an

illness of his second wife was

cured by homeopathy

o Largest influence on

American, British and Indian

homeopathy after Hahnemann

o Laid the foundation of

constitutional homeopathy

By Das Foto wurde von der Internetseite CC BY-SA 3.0,


189



Homeopathy in America

o Homeopathy remained controversial even compared to

other vitalistic medicines, having been born from and

recruiting from orthodox medicine’s own ranks of

physicians

o In 1903, the AMA invited homeopaths to join their

association

o The Flexner Report in 1910, combined with

professional tensions caused by rivalry with

conventional medicine, resulted in closure of all but one

American homeopathy school by the 1940’s, and all

schools were closed by 1950


Homeopathy in Great Britain

o Development of homeopathy in

Britain mirrors the US

o Practice was unregulated as

with orthodox medicine in the

1800’s

o Class system ranked

homeopaths with apothecaries,

below physicians and surgeons

o Major contributors to the

profession: Quin, Dudgeon,

Burnett, Clarke, Bach, Tyler,

Shepherd, Borland

By Rob Brewer from Bristol, England -

Homeopathic, CC BY-SA 2.0,

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x.php?curid=5241536



Homeopathy in Australia o Homeopathy introduced in the early 1800s by English

immigrants, first known mention in an 1830 newspaper

o In 1841 the Sydney Gazette editor complained that

popular homeopathy may overtake orthodox practice,

closing druggists

o A number of homeopathic pharmacies were established

in the 1860s, and later, homeopathic hospitals

o British Medical Association, which controlled Australian

medical practice, acted against alternative practices

o 1946 Australian Institute of Homeopathy (AIH) was

formed, which became the Australian Homoeopathic

Association (AHA)


Modern Resurgence

o The culture change of the 1970’s led to an increased interest

in alternative healing methods by medical doctors

o Modern homeopathic teachers such as Morrison, Herrick,

Herscu, Rothenberg, and others became homeopaths, and

Vithoulkas was first brought to the U.S. to teach in 1974

o Non-medical practitioners started to exist in the 70s, with

sometimes conflict between medical and lay homeopaths

o ‘Essence’ and psychological prescribing became prominent,

partly to avoid prohibitions on treating named diseases by

the orthodoxy

o Modern U.S. naturopathy schools started to establish

standards for homeopathic practice in the 1980s


Homeopathy in India

o First introduced by German

missionaries

o Homeopathic colleges

developed in the late 1800s

o Homeopathy admitted to

government hospitals, education

made equal to conventional

medical education in 1937

o Now a national, regulated system of medicine with

significant infrastructure

o Just under 250,000 practicing homeopaths in 2010

By © Jorge Royan / http://www.royan.com.ar, CC BY-SA 3.0,




Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)

“Homeopathy is the latest and refined method of treating

patients economically and nonviolently. Governments must

encourage and patronise it in our country. Late Dr.

Hahnemann was a man of superior intellectual power and

means of saving human life, having a unique medical

nerve. I bow before his skill and the Herculean and

humanitarian labour he did. His memory wakes us again

and you are to follow him, but the opponents hate the

existence of the principles and practice of homeopathy,

which in reality cures a larger percentage of cases than any

other method of treatment, and it is beyond all doubt safer

and more economical and the most complete medical

science.”(Gandi, cited in Ulman 2007)


Current Usage

o Widely practiced in Europe, India, Pakistan, and Latin

America

o 32% of French family physicians use homeopathy

o 42% of English physicians refer to homeopaths

o Included in the national health system in Germany,

India, Brazil, Mexico, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, U.K.,

Switzerland and Cuba

o One of the top four most used medical approaches

internationally (with Traditional Chinese Medicine,

herbalism, and conventional medicine)


Revision Questions

o What are the differences in the practice of

homeopathy in the English speaking world

compared to the rest of the world (and why)?

o What were the major drivers of the waxing and

waning of homeopathy over time in the English

speaking world?

Other food for thought:o Why does Homeopathy present such a challenge

to modern medical research?


Referenceso Armstrong, B 2013, Timeline homeopathy in Australia, viewed 26 March 2014,

<http://www.historyofhomeopathy.com.au/timeline.html>. Danciger, E 1988, Homeopathy: from alchemy to medicine,

Healing Arts Press, Vermont.

o CCRHI 2011, Homeopathy, viewed 11 June 2014, <http://ccrhindia.org/About%20Homoeopathy.asp>.

o De Schepper, L 2007, Achieving and maintaining the simillimum, B.Jain Publishers, New Delhi.

o Gray, A 2014, Case management, Homeopathic Essence, New Delhi.

o Grossinger, R 1995, Planet medicine, North Atlantic Books, Berkeley.

o Haehl, R 1992, Samuel Hahnemann: his life and work, B.Jain Publishers, New Delhi.

o Hahnemann, S 1796, Essay on a new principle, viewed 26 March 2014, <http://www.grundlagen-

praxis.de/diskussion/englisch/essay.pdf>

o Hahnemann, S 1996, Organon of the medical art, W Brewster O’Relly (ed.), trans. S Decker, 6th edn, Birdcage Books,

Palo Alto, California.

o Jagose, AT 2008, History of homeopathy in India, viewed 11 June 2014, <http://hpathy.com/past-present/history-of-

homeopathy-in-india/>.

o Kayne, S 2006, Homeopathic pharmacy, Elsevier, Philadelphia. Taylor, W 2001, Provings, viewed 26 March 2014,

<http://www.wholehealthnow.com/homeopathy_pro/wt13.html>.

o Lansky, A 2009, Impossible cure, R.L.Ranch Press, Portola Valley.

o Saine A 1988, Hering’s law: law, rule or dogma?, viewed 8 June 2016, <http://www.homeopathy.ca/articles_det12.shtml>.

o Ullman D 1991, A condensed history of homeopathy, viewed 8 June 2016,

<https://www.homeopathic.com/Articles/Introduction_to_Homeopathy/A_Condensed_History_of_Homeopathy.html>.

o Ullman, D 2007, The homeopathic revolution: why famous people and cultural heroes choose homeopathy, North Atlantic

Books, Berkely.

o Winston, J 1999, The faces of homoeopathy, Great Auk Publishing, Wellington.

o Winston, J 1998, Influenza-1918: homeopathy to the rescue, NEJH 1998 7:1, viewed 8 June 2016

<http://www.nesh.com/the-new-england-journal-of-homeopathy/vol-7-no-1-springsummer-1998/influenza-1918-

homeopathy-to-the-rescue/>.

o Yasgur, J 2007, Yasgur’s homeopathic dictionary and holistic health reference, Van Hoy Publishers, Greenville.

http://www.historyofhomeopathy.com.au/timeline.html

http://ccrhindia.org/About Homoeopathy.asp

http://www.grundlagen-praxis.de/diskussion/englisch/essay.pdf

http://hpathy.com/past-present/history-of-homeopathy-in-india/

http://www.wholehealthnow.com/homeopathy_pro/wt13.html

http://www.homeopathy.ca/articles_det12.shtml

https://www.homeopathic.com/Articles/Introduction_to_Homeopathy/A_Condensed_History_of_Homeopathy.html

http://www.nesh.com/the-new-england-journal-of-homeopathy/vol-7-no-1-springsummer-1998/influenza-1918-homeopathy-to-the-rescue/

SOCH111 History of Healing · PDF file(subjective and objective) ... o 1813 typhoid epidemic...

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