Homeopathy (2005) 94, 196–199
r 2005 The Faculty of Homeopathy
doi:10.1016/j.homp.2005.05.004, available online at http://www.sciencedirect.com
CLINICAL
The colour of the homeopathic improvement: The multidimensional nature of the response to homeopathic therapy
M Oberbaum1,✕, SR Singer1and George Vithoulkas2
1The Center for Integrative Complementary Medicine, Shaare Zedek Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
2International Academy of Classical Homeopathy, Alonissos, Greece
Homeopathy differs from conventional medicine in many aspects. Little recognized to date is the unique, multidimensional nature of the response to homeopathic treatment. We discuss this ‘colour’ of the homeopathic response; altered temporal awareness, the paucity of language, selective amnesia, lack of self-awareness, the holistic character of the improvement, and the development of acute illnesses, all in response to successful homeopathic treatment. We conclude that, beyond its biological effect, homeopathic treatment affects awareness. Homeopathy (2005) 94, 196–199.
Keywords: homeopathic improvement; Hering’s law; therapeutic response; multidimensional
Introduction
Cartesian philosophy has been the central pillar of scientific discovery, and a great benefit for humanity. From locomotive to space shuttle and from penicillin to PET scan, this paradigm has dominated western scientific production for over 400 years. However, the wholesale adoption of Descartes’s worldview has not been without cost. Lost in the shuffle have been many of the subtler aspects of our existence.
Homeopathy is a system of medicine based upon the law of similars. It maintains a holistic philosophy of health and illness. In that vein, homeopathy anticipates a subtle and qualitative model of cure and improve- ment. Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homeop- athy, declared that ‘after careful selection ofysimilar homeopathic medicine, health, recovery, follow in imperceptible, often rapid transitions’,1 and that ‘commencement of amelioration or aggravationy is not perceptible to every oney [and] cannot be described in words’.2 We maintain that this ‘multidimensional’ nature of the homeopathic response has gone largely unrecognized, in no small part due to our prevailing cultural bias towards Cartesian logic.
