Historical Background of Classical Homeopathy
The term "Homeopathy" comes from the two Greek words:
homios which means similar and pathos which means suffering.
Homeopathy originated in Germany with a German physician and chemist, Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, and came to the U.S. in the early 1800s.
Dr. Hahnemann had grown weary of the terrible pain and suffering inflicted on humankind by orthodox western medicine of the period: bloodletting, poisonous doses of arsenic and mercury, and other dangerous treatments.
Dr. Hahnemann left medicine and began translating various medical texts. As he translated a work by a leading physiologist of his time, he was startled by the author's claim that the bitter and astringent properties of Peruvian Bark (which contains quinine) was the reason it was effective in treating malaria. Hahnemann appeared to have proved him wrong when he made a preparation even more bitter and astringent that was useless against malaria.
This unexpected result sparked his interest. Not only was he a doctor but also an outstanding chemist. He decided to experiment on himself by taking small doses of the Peruvian bark. His body reacted, and he developed the symptoms very similar to those of malaria.
Here began the spark that was to ignite the development of the science of homeopathy. His basic question was this:
Did the curative power of Peruvian bark result from its capacity to create symptoms similar to those of the disease malaria?
This question propelled Hahnemann into the investigations and empirical understanding that would become this wonderful scientific healing system that we call "Homeopathy." Hahnemann began studying records of accidental poisoning from other commonly used medicine of his time, e.g. mercury, arsenic, belladonna, silver nitrate.
He tested these poisons on himself and other volunteers, and found that in overdose levels, the medicines caused symptoms similar to those illnesses they were used to treat.
It was with this revelation that Dr. Hahnemann discovered the law of similars, a principle explored in the writings of Hippocrates in the 4th century BC.
Provings: Homeopathy's Method of Scientific Research
Hahnemann realized that once he began to understand the principle of "like cures like" he must find some way to test a particular substance to see what effects it would produce in a human being.
Rather than testing on sick people like orthodox medicine, he realized that he must perform his medical experiments on healthy people who had a strong vital force. These experiments, called provings, involved giving a group of healthy people a small dose of the single substance on a daily basis until symptoms appeared. Careful observations and records were made of the symptoms that each person reported.
These observations are compiled into a "remedy picture" of mental, emotional and physical symptoms. Over 2000 remedies have been proven, and the possibilities for future provings are unlimited. The provings are still done in the same manner that Hahnemann used nearly 200 years ago.
According to The Science of Homeopathy by George Vithoulkas, homeopathy is used to facilitate the body's own healing response to acute and chronic illnesses. Homeopathic medicine can greatly enhance deep healing without the harmful side effects so commonly caused by conventional allopathic medicines.
"The Living Energy Universe" a book by Gary Schwartz, provides more information on how homeopathy may work. |
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