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Homeopathy Mystical or Scientific?

HOMOEOPATHY IS A COMPLETE HEALTH SCIENCE

airy fairy medicinesHomeopathy is often linked to the weird and wonderful, airy fairy esoteric or even Eastern Philosophies, while it has nothing in common with any of those.

It is sad and unfortunate that even some of it's practitioners make this connection, not because it is a fact, but rather because they themselves are involved in or delve in such philosophies or esoteric practices. The fact that some practitioner, who happens to be a homeopath, follows an esoteric way of life, in no way whatsoever means that the science of homeopathy has any connection to such esoteric mysticism.

Homoeopathy is also often referred to as being an Energy medicine. In its own right Energy medicine is also associated with esoterics or mystical forms of healing, such as laying on of hands, Reiki, etc, none of which have anything even remotely in common with Homoeopathy.

Another misconception is that Homeopathy and herbalism / phytotherapy are synonymous, which is also far from the truth. There is little or no connection between homeopathy and herbalism. Phytotherapy is more closely related to conventional medicine and their approach to therapeutics and the medicinal action of their medicines are also based upon the same principles as conventional medicine.

THE ORIGINS AND SCIENCE OF HOMEOPATHY

Read the reworked article, originally published in UPDATE the most popular Medical Journal in South Africa, Homoeopathy in Perspective by Dr. Johan P.B. Prinsloo

What is a Homeopathic Practitioner? - Read here

PUBLIC OPINION WHERE "ASSENT BECOMES A DUTY

Something was said first by one, then by two, three and so on, and now it has become what some call a 'public opinion', an opinion of the majority.
Let anyone read the words, "Assent becomes a duty." (V. II., p. 390) in Shipman's Grauvogl :

"What is commonly called public opinion is, plainly speaking, the opinion of two or three persons, and we should convince ourselves of the truth of this, could we but see into the mode in which this public opinion originated.
We should then find that there are two or three people who first assumed or decided or affirmed that such and such a thing was so without taking the trouble very thoroughly to examine it. Taking for granted that these had sufficient capacity of judgement, a few others also accepted their opinions; three again are believed by many others, whose indolence rather inclines them to believe it at once than to take the trouble to test it.
Thus grows from day to day the number of such indolent, easily believing adherents; for if the opinion had only gained a goodly number of advocates, those who adopted it afterwards attributed its prosperity to the quasi fact that those already accepting it would have done so only on account of weighty reasons.
Others were now constrained to accept what everybody else accepted, lest they might pass for restless souls who were setting themselves up against generally received opinions, and for malapert hinds, who would be wiser than the rest of the world. Assent now becomes a duty.
Now the few who are capable of judging must be silent; and those who are permitted to speak are those who, perfectly incapable of forming their own opinion or judgement, are the mere echo of the opinions of others; nevertheless, they are all the more zealous and intolerant advocates there of. For they hate in those thinking otherwise, not so much the diverse opinion they hold, as the arrogance of daring to judge for themselves; something, by the way, which they never venture themselves, of which they are at least conscious.
In short, very few can think, but all claim the right of having opinions; what else then remains for these latter, since they cannot make opinions for themselves, but to adopt the ready-made opinion of others? As this is the case of what avail now are the voices of a hundred million of men?
"

"Dico ego, tu dicis, sed denique dixit et ille; dicta que post toties nil nisi dicta vides!" - Text-book of Homoeopathy, by D. V. Grauvogl, Part II., p.390, et seq.
(Copied from "The Testimony of the Clinic" By Eugene Beauharnais Nash MD, under DROPSY - Case 81)

IS THE CRITICISM AGAINST HOMEOPATHY JUSTIFIED?

homeopathic simplex medicinesHomeopathy is often referred to as a medicine that is so diluted as to contain virtually nothing and consist of no more than mere sugar pills or water. Whenever I read or hear this I know I'm dealing with someone that knows nothing about the subject.

It should also be remembered that in every single case where a so-called scientist or medical practitioner speaks out against homeopathy, it is someone that has never studied or practiced homeopathy. The average medical practitioner and so-called scientist knows as little about homeopathy as an average member of the public who had never studied any form of medicine.

The other accusation so often heard is that there is no research in homeopathy. Only someone who does not read could make such a ridiculuous statement. For more information read : Scientific Evidence for Homeopathic Medicine by Dana Ullman.

Even more interesting is the tendency of certain individuals or groups who are so quick to deny science when it relates to something beyond their own comprehension. When scientific studies are conducted on Homeopathy, is it not amazing how quickly the denialists are to argue against the validity of the study, yet the same never appears to occur in the case conventional medicine? See the links below, which contains just a few examples of the fraud in medical research, which strangely enough the skeptics and critics never seem to mention or question or doubt or debate, yet every good research trial on Complementary and Aleternative Medicine or Homeopathy is declared nonsense from the outset?

- Learn about the Fraud in research .....and for much more comprehensive and shocking articles on medical fraud - CLICK HERE!poison medicine

Amazing the support one treatment gets inspite of the lack of evidence, while another's evidence is consistently being critised and questioned?

HISTORY OF HOMEOPATHIC TRAINING IN SOUTH AFRICA

Have you ever wondered how Homoeopathic training started in South Africa?
How did South Africa become the World Leader in Homoeopathic Training. Read : The History of Homoeopathic Training in South Africa by Dr. Johan P. Prinsloo

"In order to be art it needs to have no purpose other than itself, no function"
THE DEFINITION OF THE WORD "SCIENCE"

The following was copied directly from Wikipedia :

Science (from the Latin scientia, meaning "knowledge") refers in its broadest sense to any systematic knowledge-base or prescriptive practice that is capable of resulting in a prediction or predictable type of outcome. In this sense, science may refer to a highly skilled technique or practice.[1]

In its more restricted contemporary sense, science refers to a system of acquiring knowledge based on scientific method, and to the organized body of knowledge gained through such research.[2][3] This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word. Science as discussed in this article is sometimes called experimental science to differentiate it from applied science - the application of scientific research to specific human needs - although the two are interconnected.

Science is a continuing effort to discover and increase human knowledge and understanding through disciplined research. Using controlled methods, scientists collect observable evidence of natural or social phenomena, record measurable data relating to the observations, and analyze this information to construct theoretical explanations of how things work. The methods of scientific research include the generation of hypotheses about how phenomena work, and experimentation that tests these hypotheses under controlled conditions. Scientists are also expected to publish their information so other scientists can do similar experiments to double-check their conclusions. The results of this process enable better understanding of past events, and better ability to predict future events of the same kind as those that have been tested.

OBVIOUSLY HOMEOPATHY IS A SCIENCE

SO WHAT IS HOMEOPATHY REALLY?

Similia similibus curentur - let likes be treated by likes, is the primary principle of homoeopathy, often referred to as the similimum principle.

Every lock has its own key and one needs to match the right key to the particular lock.

What does this mean? It simply means that if a healthy person were to take a small, non lethal amount of arsenic for a period of time, a specific repeatable set of symptoms and signs would manifest in that person. If a hundred individuals were to all partake in this by all taking the same amount, at the same intervals, over the same period of time, they would all manifest a specific set of symptoms and signs, but a small number of individuals would also manifest symptoms and signs unique to themselves.

The practitioner has to match the symptoms and signs of the patient to the symptoms and signs produced by the medicine when taken by healthy individuals as mentioned before. While it may seem a simple approach, it is by no means easy.

Homeopathy does not treat patients, it treats disease as manifested by the patient. It is not, as often stated, a matter of matching the symptoms of the medicine to the person as a whole, but rather the matching of the medicine to the symptoms of the disease as displayed in the particular patient.

A number of homeopathic medicines may exhibit symptoms similar to those manifested in the patient and the difficulty lies in distinguishing the right from the wrong medicine.

THE COST OF HOMOEOPATHIC TREATMENT

Is Homoeopathy a cost-effective medical treatment? Read what research has found - Click here.

Lancet Report on Homoeopathy

Sometime ago a low quality very poorly written and poorly researched article appeared in Lancet Medical Journal in which Homeopathy was slanted as being an ineffective form of medicine. This article was rebutted extensively in the media, in medical and scientific journals all over the World by Homoeopathic Practitioners, Pharmacists, Scientists, Academics and Medical Practitioners. Dr. Prinsloo assisted the Homoeopathic Association of South Africa with the following official rebuttle that was also published in India - Prominent Doctors and Scientists Reject Lancet Report on Homeopathy.

Lancet Verslag oor Homeopatie

'n Onlangse swak kwaliteit artikel wat in die Lancet Mediese Joernaal verskein het oor die effektiwiteit van Homeopatie is skerp gekritiseer deur Homeopatiese en Mediese Praktisyns en Wetenskaplikes. Dr. Johan Prinsloo het die Homeopatiese Vereniging van Suid-Afrika (HSA) gehelp met die skryf en vertaling van 'n amptelike verklaring oor die Lancet artikel wat hier gelees kan word - Prominente Dokters en Wetenskaplikes Verwerp Lancet Publikasie oor Homeopatie.

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