timeline
Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, founder of homeopathy.Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, founder of homeopathy.
Time 1790s
Title Homeopathy emerges
Event

Homeopathy is developed in Germany by Dr. Samuel Hahnemann and becomes an alternative to reigning, invasive medical procedures. Hahnemann believes that, in healthy people, drugs create symptoms similar to the diseases they effectively treat. For instance, to treat a fever, a homeopath uses extremely low doses of a substance that, under normal circumstances, would cause a fever. (Today this principal is known as the "Law of Similars.”) The American Institute of Homeopathy is later founded in 1844.

As of this site's publication, research reviews have not found homeopathy to be a proven treatment for any medical condition. It should also be noted that several scientific controversies are associated with homeopathy.

Psychological symptoms are given just as much weight as physical symptoms in homeopathy. Hahnemann believes that any mental disruption can weaken the body’s “vital force” and cause disease. Both modern advocates and critics cite the placebo effect as a possible reason homeopathic remedies work: if patients believe homeopathic remedies are helpful, they feel better. Whether the mind or remedy itself is the cause of homeopathic healing is still not known.

Hahnemann concocts drugs using very low concentrations of extracts derived from natural sources. These drugs are considered [or thought] to be nontoxic alternatives to the more dangerous allopathic medicines of his era, such as bloodletting, purging, blistering, and massive doses of plant extracts. Hahnemann tests hundreds of these substances on himself, including plants, animal parts and chemical compounds, and he catalogues their effects. Most notably, he tests cinchona, a South American tree bark that is both a cure of malaria and a cause of malaria-like symptoms. Today it is known that the active chemical in cinchona bark is quinine, which is the basis of the modern anti-malarial drug chloroquine.

Hahnemann’s spiritual beliefs are not fully known. However, many modern enthusiasts view homeopathy as a tool for addressing spiritual matters. These individuals believe that effective remedies allow people to fully express their natural power and address negative spiritual/emotional attributes like fear, anger, and jealousy.

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