ETERNAL DRIFT
Increasingly outraged by the negligence underlying so-called homeopathic prescriptions, I sought a new angle from which to approach the issue, to move beyond mere condemnation, which has become rather tiresome after 30 years of practice. Since protesting is clearly of little use, we could at least try to understand the origins of a scourge that appears to be widespread in the field of science in general and medicine in particular. We shall see, in conclusion, the significance of the article’s title.
The severe lack of homeopathic and medical education is a common feature of all these ectoplasmic aberrations that we have been denouncing for so many years. What does «homeopathic education» mean? It is the in-depth study of the aphorisms of the Organon, as Hahnemann developed them over 55 years of uninterrupted research and reflection (our master continued to stay up every other night right up until his death).[1]
A STRANGE form of blindness
The self-awareness that every practitioner ought to have should lead them all to ask themselves one very simple question – and this applies to both allopathic and homeopathic practitioners: are we achieving the desired results? What I mean by that is that we Hahnemannians –since we must be given a name– we are becoming more enthusiastic about our practice with each passing year, as our progress never ceases, whilst we are achieving ever more cures that require less and less time spent deliberating over which remedy to prescribe, and we are successfully treating conditions that we would previously have considered incurable.
It is the exact opposite of conventional medicine, where each passing year heightens the sense of powerlessness and futility, eventually leading the more fortunate to turn to politics. And it is the same sentiment that prevails amongst all those who, in the name of homeopathy, engage in these abuses and flit from one training course to the next.
In our practice, ever since we set up 30 years ago, we have been faced with a steady stream of disappointed, dissatisfied patients who continue to suffer years after having consulted, to no avail, all the most eminent specialists and undergone every possible test and treatment. This patient disappointment is not immediately apparent to doctors working in hospitals, as their attention is focused on the specific condition they are striving to treat. Patients are therefore sent home and we hear no more from them – which is rather convenient…
These people (that is to say, soon almost all patients with a chronic illness) then turn to «alternative» treatments. A real obstacle course awaits them before they end up in the «clutches» of a «homeopath» who will literally string them along for years on end. A few will realise, before their so-called homeopathic doctor does, that something is amiss with what is being offered to them: «It’s holistic, but you’re giving me loads of medication», «He’s asking me what I’d like to be treated for», and so on. The few who hear about genuine homeopathy end up with the Hahnemannians as a last resort. More often than not, it’s the same old story: endless consultations, prescriptions for oddities – that is to say, highly improbable medicines for which no clinical trials have been carried out (milk from various mammals, birds« feathers, lanthanides and other rare earth elements, a Tyrannosaurus rex tooth (sic), excrement, fossils, etc.). To cap it all, the prescriber changes the remedy at every consultation (thereby committing the most basic error in homeopathy, which is to change remedies too quickly), with an almost systematic resort to allopathic medicine (particularly at the slightest sign of an acute episode) since »it doesn’t work.’
Let’s now put these obvious facts together:
- We have prescribers who, day in, day out, are forced to recognise that their approach yields little or no results, yet they persist in the same direction.
- The reason these theories are prescribed is that they are based on beliefs which all have one thing in common: they have no scientific basis. Let us list the most popular ones at present, along with the names of their originators:
- Sequential therapy (Elmiger)
- The Sensations Method (Sankaran)
- Periodic Table (Scholten)
Their adherence to the tenets of the theory they follow is so all-encompassing that they no longer possess the critical faculties necessary to evaluate any of the actions we carry out in everyday life (boiling an egg, washing oneself, etc.). A century ago, this would have involved isotherapy, gemmotherapy, Schüssler salts, etc…
A state bordering on fanaticism
Alain wrote: ‘There is something mechanical about fanatical thinking, for it always follows the same paths. It no longer seeks, it no longer invents. Dogmatism is like a recited delusion. It lacks that diamond-sharp edge – doubt – which is always digging deeper.’[2]
Of course, we homeopaths have never made a secret of our enthusiasm and passion, but this emotional state stems from the cures we achieve – that is to say, from the interplay between clinical results and our understanding of homeopathic doctrine, which we are constantly re-examining.
The difference with fundamentalism is that it is enthusiastic about an idea, and reality is consequently superseded by the implementation of what becomes a dogma. Coming to terms with reality is becoming increasingly difficult, and we are clearly faced with two key ingredients of fanaticism:
- Mental polarisation: facts and results are no longer taken into account; the only thing that matters is upholding the theory deemed «correct» at all costs.
- Belief: in the absence of any factual basis, we are dealing with a belief that no longer represents a rational adherence to a body of ideas or logical arguments.
In a nutshell, we are increasingly faced not with a doctor for whom pragmatism must always take precedence, but with the exaltation of an idea that seems to fill and enlighten the prescriber through the supposed understanding of the world and of human beings that it affords them. How many unfortunate souls thus confuse homeopathy with spirituality? And even then, one has to stretch the term to call such a rudimentary collection of mystical, rambling musings ‘spirituality’.
Philosophy, our lifeline
How can we guard against such errors? The answer seems clear to me: by philosophising, since philosophy is defined as a process of reflection on existing knowledge. And this is precisely what Hahnemann proposes in the journey he takes us on through the Organon, where he requires nearly 300 aphorisms to establish a general overview of medicine, homeopathy, and how to apply it.[3] The first 70 aphorisms form the very core of homeopathy, taking the form of analysis, definition, creation and reflection on the concepts underpinning the new paradigm.
We can therefore identify one of the fundamental flaws of homeopathy (since its inception): the fact that it is never taught[4] Hahnemann’s discoveries and reasoning, with students being left behind in the process of learning what amounts to a mere technique, without understanding the foundations that underpin its revolutionary nature. Only a thorough grasp of homeopathic philosophy, ideally supplemented by a substantial dose of epistemology (Karl Popper), provides the necessary perspective for clinical practice and for the self-assessment of results.
The dictatorship of technocrats and scientists
This problem is not confined to homeopathy alone; it is, in fact, a hallmark of the entire higher education system, and I include, of course, the «grandes écoles» that are supposed to train our ‘elites’. ’ Indeed, such a shortcoming leads to the production of technicians, just as standard science faculties (in medicine, biology or other fields) turn out tens of thousands of them every year. Technicians who are themselves imbued with another form of fanaticism, merely regurgitating the materialist and reductionist ideas they have been taught.
A really lovely article published in *The Week*[5], « Why are so many scientists ignorant? ?» expands on and highlights the ideas set out here. We learn that many big names, including Stephen Hawking, are as categorical as they are completely ignorant when it comes to philosophy. For these scientists, philosophy is largely useless because it cannot provide the sort of «certain» answers that only science can offer, and philosophy amounts to nothing more than speculation. To dare to speak of «certain answers» in science is, alas, a statement worthy of a nursery school and rightly provokes astonishment. These brilliant authors, in their complete ignorance of the remarkable works of Hume – and, of course, of Karl Popper in the field of epistemology – do not even realise that to claim philosophy is useless is, in fact, to be practising philosophy.
The author goes on to conclude that many of these gentlemen loudly and emphatically profess a public atheism by proclaiming that matter is the only thing that exists. Their position is based on scientism, or, if you prefer, the notion that things can only be known through science.
David Bentley Hart[6] notes that what all these people have in common is a stubborn refusal to think. «The fundamentalist is not someone whose ideas are too simple or too crude, but someone who stubbornly refuses to think – whether through other ideas or through these very ideas themselves.»
Fundamentalist «thinking»
The harmful effects of this fanatical way of thinking are negligible when it comes to pure science, or if one keeps one’s distance from human affairs. Where this is not the case (in medicine, politics, society or religion), the effects are magnified, which is entirely logical, given that the whole of society is built upon philosophical choices. This illustrates the devastation wrought on a society when, for example, the executive branch seeks only to impose an ideology, in defiance of all reality.
Remaining a pure technician by describing the entropy of black holes (Hawking), or a pure mathematician by solving the Poincaré conjecture (Perelman), affects hardly anyone, if anyone at all. Closed-mindedness – whether it is called fundamentalism or a prelude to fanaticism – has the worst effects in medicine, where members of different sects will each strive to apply on people the principles that were instilled in him, without questioning them or examining them in the light of reason.
But let’s get back to our topic and take, for example, the average allopathic doctor fresh out of medical school. As in any indoctrination system, he has literally been trained not to think for himself, to the extent of being taught that individual opinion is worthless and that only statistics matter. A seed of rebellion may begin to sprout when our student starts to grapple with the reality of the world of patients. Perhaps he will eventually realise that statistics originally applied to seeds—all of which were identical—are being applied to people, whereas this cannot be the case for patients, who are all different from one another. Taking this further, he will wonder how he can trust statistics produced by an industry that generates billions. Then one day he may realise that the whole edifice is rotten to the core, since isolated symptoms are treated arbitrarily, whereas every patient presents a specific set of symptoms – merely an indirect reflection of a completely derailed economy. But just as we had one member of the Resistance for every 100,000 collaborators, how many will have the courage to bring about change? Isn’t it more comfortable to stick with the status quo, telling oneself, «It’s awful, but it’s my livelihood»?»
Those who are the least philosophical – and no doubt the closest to those in power – will readily become the most zealous. Who often hears the names of homeopathy’s detractors? Already shrouded in the veil of oblivion, they nevertheless emerge sporadically from their graves to haunt the media. Whether they are useful idiots or the industry’s lackeys, they are used as scarecrows when, despite the small number of competent homeopaths, too many people are no longer consuming enough.
Mental manipulation
These leading figures of triumphant allopathy are once again serving up the same old tricks of mental manipulation:
- Repeat the message
- Focusing on a specific detail
- Abstraction from the context.
Conversely, you will notice that this is the same tactic used to glorify modern medicine, which is periodically shaken up by sensational discoveries or the launch of long-awaited new products.
This is the exact opposite of a philosophy that seeks to have the broadest possible perspective. Repeat any old nonsense over and over again, broadcast it across millions of screens, and the victims on the other side will eventually end up believing it. Focus on what is most likely to cause offence: «Homeopaths are mad; they prescribe medicines that have been scientifically proven to be ineffective. » Take this out of the context of the 300 aphorisms of the Organon to reduce the entire edifice of homeopathy to this single statement. And there you have it!
In these gentlemen’s defence, it must be admitted that there is ample cause for criticism of homeopathy as it is often practised. But after having done everything possible for a century to prevent it from being taught, is it any wonder that many charlatans have seized upon it? And besides, if patients were satisfied with the conventional care extolled by official propaganda, would they be flocking en masse to anything that is different? Unless one lives in a sterile environment cut off from reality, such as a hospital ward, simply listening to patients reveals their growing fed-upness with conventional medicine, which is increasingly detested.
[1] You will note that my request is by no means out of the ordinary: as in any branch of science, one ought to learn what one’s predecessors have discovered before considering oneself capable of making progress on one’s own.
[2] Alain, Reflections on Philosophers, p. 37. PUF.
[3] Kent’s lectures on the subject are entitled « Homeopathic Philosophy ». My own publication of the first volume, *Principles of the New Medicine*, comprises a commentary on the first 70 aphorisms, running to 400 pages. The second volume, *Practice of the New Medicine*, will run to 800 pages.
[4] It was to fill this gap that I set up Planète Homéo, the only school, to my knowledge, where all teaching is based solely on the 6th The Organon (which I have retranslated in its entirety), taught and commented on from start to finish. I am proud to witness the emergence of a veritable breeding ground for genuine homeopaths. At last, the situation looks set to change.
[5] http://theweek.com/articles/610948/why-many-scientists-are-ignorant
[6] Bentley Hart, a fascinating and prolific author, has written, amongst other works: *The Atheist Delusions*, *The Beauty of the Infinite* and *God*«
