Philosophy of Homeopathy
For more than 200 years, homeopathy has been gaining increasing interest, admiration and respect all over the world. In this article we will try to explain the philosophy of homeopathy…
The basic principle of homeopathy is that a substance that triggers a certain disease can also be used to treat that disease. This is called the “Law of Similars”. In addition to this “like cures like” principle, homeopaths also believe that agitation and dilution of the substance increases its potency – a process called fortification or succussion. This form of alternative and complementary medicine was first developed and described by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann in 1796.
When Hahnemann first named the discipline in 1807, mainstream medicine included ineffective practices such as bloodletting and purging. Complex concoctions were also used, such as opium, myrrh and even Venetian molasses, a mixture of 64 ingredients, including viper meat.
Hahnemann considered these methods irrational and dangerous and instead encouraged the use of single and reduced doses of medicines. He also promoted a vitalistic view of how living organisms function and believed that the cause of disease had both spiritual and physical aspects.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Hahnemann wrote a book called The Organon of Healing Art, in which he introduced the idea of hypothetical pathological entities called “miasms” underlying diseases. Hahnemann claimed that each disease was associated with a specific miasma and that exposure to this miasma would cause the development of local symptoms, such as a rash. However, Hahnemann said that if these symptoms were treated with medication, the disease would “go deeper” in the body – a process called suppression by homeopaths.
Homeopathic practitioners believe that this suppression of disease eventually leads to the internal organs becoming diseased. All disease, they argue, has an underlying chronic, deep-seated and inherited cause that cannot be effectively treated by simply attacking the symptoms. Homeopaths believe that the miasm still remains and that the only way to correct a deep-seated disease is to remove the disturbance caused by a vital force.
Classical Homeopathy
It is based on these philosophical foundations, first established by Hahnemann and refined over the intervening two centuries. More details on the dynamics of health and disease in homeopathy and the laws that guide healing are outlined below.
Law of Similars
This fundamental law of homeopathy requires that a therapeutic application be made from a substance that causes a pattern of disease that best matches the person’s symptoms. The term homeopathy can therefore be divided into the Greek “homo” meaning similar and “pathos” meaning disease. The person’s disease pattern is determined through various sources, including the collection of clinical data and formal experimentation.
Single Remedy
To determine the disease pattern, all aspects of a person’s being are considered, meaning that treatment usually involves administering one drug at a time, even if several symptoms are present. This approach is used to find the single cause of a disease. Prepared medicines can be derived from natural or synthetic materials.
Personalization of treatment (individualized treatment)
Since the single remedy is chosen according to several factors rather than the main complaint a person presents or a medical diagnosis, homeopaths believe that it is tailored to each patient. This is why homeopathic treatment is said to provide individualized treatment, which can only be decided after specific case analysis.
Suppression
Homeopaths are very careful about what they call suppression, when a person’s symptoms may improve after a particular therapy, but the person feels worse overall, for example in terms of depression or fatigue. Homeopaths believe that conventional treatments are suppressive approaches that have harmful effects in the long term.
Healing Sequence
Homeopaths believe that treatment that follows the natural laws of healing (rather than suppressive healing) should lead to healing that occurs in a specific sequence. Indications that non-repressive healing is taking place are given below:
The original symptoms often recur before completely resolving, but are less severe and last for shorter periods of time.
In severe cases, any symptoms related to vital organs will be resolved first, with less important problems such as healing of the skin at a later stage. (Inside, outside)
Symptoms affecting the upper body and head improve before those affecting the lower body parts. (From top to bottom)
All these things we have written constitute the Philosophy of Homeopathy in general.