VITALISM
Vitalism and Homeopathy
Peter Berryman | MSc BMedSc PGDipHSc BSc ND AdvDipHom DipAstPsych GradCertEd GAICD
Abstract Let us wrestle with the divided legacy that we have inherited as natural medicine practitioners , that goes back to the roots of practising medicine . There is an apparent schism between science and art , materialism and vitalism , reductionism and holism , and between West and East . Let us explore how this legacy has played out in the development of homeopathy by exploring the historical context in which it developed .
Science
It has been the fashion in the Western world to be scientific for over the last 400 years , ever since the scientific revolution began when Nicolaus Copernicus ( 1473-1543 ) revised the relative position of planet Earth . Copernicus disrupted the science of astronomy by moving Earth from the orthodox geocentric perspective , where Earth was the centre of the universe , to a new heliocentric perspective , where Earth rotated around the Sun . This change was considered heresy , as doing so demoted human beings who were alleged to be made in the image of God . Copernicus had a significant dilemma with this new perspective , as he was serving in the position as a Canon in the Holy Roman Catholic Church , in Poland . He was meant to support its orthodox
perspective , derived from Joshua 10:12-14 and other references in the Old Testament of the Bible , and as also taught by the significant Greek authors , Aristotle ( 384-322 BC ) and Claudius Ptolemy ( 100-170 AD ). It was only on his death bed that Copernicus authorised the publication of his book 1 that contradicted the orthodox perspective . In anticipation of the expected accusations of his heresy by the leaders of the Catholic Church , and his likely conviction and capital punishment , Copernicus quoted in his book an ancient Greek author , Aristarchus of Samos ( 310-230 BC ), who had first expounded this same heliocentric perspective around 1800 years earlier .
Galileo Galilei ( 1564-1642 ) was another disruptor of astronomy and harbinger of the scientific revolution . He was sent to the Roman Catholic Inquisition and subsequently ostracised from the Catholic Church in 1633 , for making similar heliocentric assertions as those made by Copernicus . In 1609 , Galileo had seen with his own eyes , assisted by a novel instrument called a telescope , the four largest moons that orbited Jupiter – clearly not orbiting the Earth , and therefore dared to deduce once again , that the Earth was not the centre of the universe . Other than the Earth ’ s moon , no other moons ( or rings ) of other planets in our solar system had ever been seen before Galileo ’ s telescopic sightings of Jupiter ’ s moons . Galileo was only posthumously vindicated for his alleged heresy and welcomed back into the Catholic Church 359 years later , with a final absolution in 1992 by Pope John Paul II .
188 | vol27 | no4 | JATMS