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Dr. Samuel Hahnemann: Father of Homeopathy and Homeopathics |
Samuel Hahnemann was born Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann in Saxony Germany in 1755.
He was a medical doctor and through observation and after having practiced orthodox medicine Hahnemann's concluded that the medicine of his time did about as much harm as it did good.
He said, "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."
After witnessing the brutality of medical practice in his day he gave up his medical practice and was resolved to investigate the causes of what he considered to be the ideological errors in the medical practices of his day.
While translating A Treatise on the Materia Medica, Hahnemann encountered the claim that Cinchona; the bark of a Peruvian tree, also known as cinchona bark, Jesuit's bark or Peruvian bark, was effective in treating malaria because of its astringency. Hahnemann claimed that other astringent substances are not effective against malaria so why should this substance be? He began to investigate cinchona's effect on the human organism by self-application. He noticed that the chincona evoked malaria-like symptoms in himself, and concluded that it would do so in any healthy individual. This process was called "proving the remedy" From this he postulated the healing principle: "that which can produce a set of symptoms in a healthy individual, can treat a sick individual who is manifesting a similar set of symptoms."This principle, like cures like, became the basis for an approach to medicine which he gave the name homeopathy. Interestingly, Paracelsus made the same statement over 150 years earlier.
Hahnemann continued to test various substances to see what effect or symptoms they would produce in a healthy individual and by extension specific ills they would heal. Because of the effects produced by ingesting these various substances concluded he concluded that the noticeable changes in the organism were produced by the toxic effects of the substances. Paracelsus himself had stated that there is poison in all known substances and the difference between a remedy and a poison is in the dosing. Hahnemann then attempted to overcome the negative effects by exploring systematic dilutions of the compounds he was testing based on a decimal system. The degree of dilution was called potentizing. When diluted the substances were succussed which is nothing more than a vigorous shaking. He observed that even even when systematically diluted the substances were still effective in producing symptoms. Homeopathy proved its efficacy in 1831 when there was an outbreak of cholera. Using his homeopathic treatments Hahnemann had a 96% success rate, compared to the 41% of the conventional medicine of that time. He gained world wide renown and doctors came from all over to be instructed by him. Clearly, if it did not work - no one would have noticed.
Samuel Hahnemann documented his discoveries in his three major books:
1) Organon of Homeopathic Medicine - where we see the fundamentals of homeopathy laid out,
2) Materia Medica Pura - which records the exact symptoms of the remedy proving,
3) The Chronic Diseases, Their Peculiar Nature and Their Homeopathic Cure- where Hahnemann shows us how the natural diseases become chronic in nature when suppressed by improper treatment,
and, a less known work:
A Medical Historical Dissertation on the Helleborism of the Ancients.
What is not commonly known about Hahnemann was that he, like all of the great healers, would not treat or help everyone. This is not out of malice but out of genuine caring. If he felt that by removing someone's symptoms he would be perpetuating the unwholesome habits of the ailing person he would not help believing that ultimately he would harm more than help that particular individual. Also, he had a very specific diet that was similar to the Biblical "pulse out of the book of Daniel," that those who he would treat had to follow. If they would not make the effort, he would not continue to help.
It is very interesting to note that even though anyone who has ever tried homeopathy without having any medical or scientific training can and have been able to reproduce Hahnemann's effects but, some of the modern medical establishments have maintained that these effects have never been duplicated in clinical trials, and due to this have been universally abandoned by modern medicine. Yet, the University of Frieburg, Germany has recently proven otherwise.
Also, at the turn of the 20th century in the United States almost all of the medical hospitals and institutions of medical training were based on homeopathic training and practice. With the advent of modern chemical based pharmacology they were all systematically shut down or converted along with the many health spas that were all over the United States.
As a general note to better understand Homeopathics it should also be mentioned that since the inspired research and writing of Samuel Hahnemann more inspired information has come into being explaining in very fine terms how and why homeopathic remedies work. To see this information click here.
Please note that the book selection below is comprised mainly of the works of Samuel Hahnemann himself. There are hundreds of books on homeopathy available. If you click on any link below you can explore the other many publications on the subject of Homeopathy.
