Today marks the beginning of World Homeopathy Awareness Week, and it is the anniversary of Samuel Hahnemann’s birth on 10th April 1755.
Samual Hahnemann was the founder of Homeopathy, but it was serendipity that led to him experimenting and development of the theory. Hahnemann was proficient in many languages, as well as a qualified medical Doctor. He would augment his income by translating text books, and in one such book he disagreed with the text he was translating. It was discussing the use of Cinchona bark for the treatment of Malaria, and claimed it worked because it was bitter. Hahnemann disagreed because many substances are bitter but do not treat Malaria. He took the Cinchona bark himself, and found that in high doses it caused the symptoms that it would treat in low doses. This was the very first exploration into homeopathy and the theory of “like cures like”.
Hahnemann went on to test many different substances on himself, his family and colleagues, and went on to develop his theory further and further. He wrote a book, known as the Organon which set out the principles and practice of his new form of medicine, that he called Homeopathy.
Samual Hahnemann eschewed the conventional medical practices of his day that were often harsh. In developing homeopathy he founded a mode of healing with ultra high dilutions and minimum dosing to reduce the risk of any adverse events. He was a Scientist and continually worked and refined his practice. The Organon, his doctrine on medicine and homeopathy he continued to revise, publishing 5 versions during his lifetime; the 6th was published nearly 80 years after his death at age 88 in 1842.
Come back tomorrow to read about the developments in Homeopathy since Hahnemann’s day.