Abstract
Although the basic concept of homeopathy may be an eternal idea, or an immutable law of nature, its theoretical and practical elaboration and actualisation by homeopaths over time has not always been performed consistently, but in differing ways, since its beginning. In the 1820s, a group of selfappointed “free homeopaths” had emancipated themselves from Hahnemann’s allegedly authoritarian doctrine and claim of allegiance, thus opening up a fundamental split between (1) a socalled “scientific-critical school” of homeopaths, which rejected high potencies and the theory of chronic miasms, and (2) the true disciples of Hahnemann who followed his teachings in its entirety.
This primordial dissociation had far-reaching consequences for the history and philosophy of homeopathy, and its overcoming was one of the major motives of Pierre Schmidt (1894-1987) and others in founding the LMHI in Rotterdam in 1925. After studying Kentianism with pupils of Kent in America in 1920, Schmidt’s mission was to strengthen and spread classical Hahnemannian homeopathy all over the world, – at a time, when in Europe, especially Germany, the “scientificcritical school” of low potency homeopaths had still dominated the field until the 1960s. Now, for 100 years, a vivid and prolific exchange of thought and experience has been taking place at some 85 international LMHI congresses so far and it is exciting to track the developments homeopathy at large has undergone during this period.
As may be shown in detail, the main shifts of paradigm occurred in line with the Zeitgeist of the respective era. E.g., during a relatively open-minded time of the New Age movement (1960s-1990s), a vast array of new idiosyncratic schools of homeopathy emerged, including innovative views on the theory of chronic miasms, from Vithoulkas, Ortega, Masi-Elizalde, to Sankaran, Scholten and many others. From the 1990s, in the wake of new electronic tools, such as computer repertorisation, and as a reaction to increasing public support as well as the successful institutionalisation of homeopathy at universities, a new mindset of so-called evidence-based medicine (EbM) came about, and the achievement of significant randomised clinical trials (RCTs) henceforth tends to become a predominant issue within the homeopathic community.
| Dokumententyp: | Konferenzbeitrag (Abstract) |
|---|---|
| Fakultät: | Medizin > Institut für Ethik, Geschichte und Theorie der Medizin |
| Themengebiete: | 600 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften > 610 Medizin und Gesundheit |
| Sprache: | Englisch |
| Dokumenten ID: | 127173 |
| Datum der Veröffentlichung auf Open Access LMU: | 24. Jul. 2025 07:22 |
| Letzte Änderungen: | 24. Jul. 2025 07:22 |
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