Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, Father of Homeopathy

Commentary

In Washington, D.C., there is only one monument dedicated to a physician, a German doctor by the name of Dr. Samuel Hahnemann (1755–1843). Hahnemann was the founder of homeopathy.

The monument was dedicated in 1900 with President William McKinley, who gave his support and attendance. It’s located at the east side of Scott Circle where Massachusetts Avenue and 16th Street NW come together. Once you’re onsite, you will see a 24-foot-wide monument that was sculpted in the classical revival style.

Its layout is a crescent-shaped alcove known as an exedra, which was a popular structure in the Hellenistic period and also found in ancient Rome. Walking toward the monument, you’ll go up four steps and find two nice long benches where you can sit and have lunch or read a book. In between the benches is the statue of Hahnemann.

I would like to bring attention to the pedestal of the statue, where you’ll find the Latin inscription “Similia Similibus Curentur,” which in essence means “Likes are cured by Like.” This principle is the fundamental basis of homeopathy.

Homeopathic practitioners seek to treat diseases with heavily diluted doses of naturally occurring substances that when given to a healthy person would produce symptoms of disease. But when given to a sick person, the substances can help remind the body how to heal itself. An example would be that if somebody is suffering from insomnia, there is a homeopathic remedy made from coffee.

Since diseases appear with a myriad of symptoms in humans and animals (yes, animals can take them too), there are a plethora of homeopathic remedies available. Today, the most common form used to give homeopathic remedies is a small tube filled with little white balls containing either sugar or lactose, and they have the remedy sprayed on them. They are cost friendly, you don’t need a prescription, and they can be found online, at a health food store, or at a homeopathic pharmacy.

Some common remedies are Cinchona officinalis (a.k.a. quinine), which has been used for loss of vital fluids from dehydration, blood loss, nursing without rehydrating, etc.; Arnica montana, used for bruising, sprains, bone injuries, head injuries, and hemorrhaging; Apis mellifica, used for certain kinds of allergic reactions such as hives, swelling, or anaphylaxis; and Gelsemium sempervirens, used for anticipatory anxiety, jet lag, flus, and migraines.

Hahnemann Discovers Homeopathy

Hahnemann was not only a medical doctor but also a chemist, author, language teacher (he could speak nine languages), and translator.

Hahnemann became disillusioned with conventional medicine practice due to the methods of bloodletting, leeching, and purging. He felt these methods were harmful and conflicted with his personal philosophy as exampled by this quote of his: “The highest ideal of cure is the speedy, gentle, and enduring restoration of health by the most trustworthy and least harmful way.”

He decided to stop practicing medicine and support his family with translation work because he thought he was doing more harm to people as a doctor. This career change gave him an opportunity to translate a book by a physiologist who claimed that Cinchona tree bark was an effective remedy for malaria because it had bitter and astringent qualities.

Hahnemann knew of other remedies that had the same qualities but provided no relief for malaria. This led him to his first experiment with homeopathy, which was with Cinchona bark.

He took small doses of the bark, which gave him symptoms of malaria minus the anemia and jaundice. With this, he developed the theory “Like cures Like.”

This is why the creators of the monument decided to incorporate designs of Cinchona leaves and flowers throughout the structure.

Methods of Homeopathy

There are two main methods used in homeopathy: Classical Homeopathy and the Banerji Protocols. The Classical method looks at the whole person and all of the different symptoms that are presenting, and one single remedy is chosen that addresses all or most of the symptoms and the individual. The Banerji Protocols is a newer method and instead of considering the whole individual, it focuses on the diagnosis of the disease and chooses remedies accordingly; usually more than one remedy can be taken.

Dr. Pareshnath Banerji laid the groundwork in Mihijam, India in 1910, and his son Dr. Prasanta Banerji and grandson Dr. Pratip Banerji worked together later developing the Banerji Protocols in Kolkata, India. The term Banerji Protocols was finally coined in the year 2000 in the United States at a dinner between the Drs. Banerji and Dr. Evans, the director of the National Cancer Institute, after the Comprehensive Cancer Care 2000 Conference.

They felt there was a need to finally name this method of treatment. Today in India, homeopathy is a widely used system of treatment due to its easy-to-use method and low cost. Even Mahatma Gandhi favored homeopathy.

Gandhi said, “Homeopathy … cures a larger percentage of cases than any other method of treatment and is beyond all doubt safer, more economical and the most complete medical science.”

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.