§ 17: The Whole Disease – Part 2

Summary

Have all the treasures in the Organon been revealed so far? Everything seems clear when speaking of a totality – really? To analyse the three German words that have been translated into totality can open a new view on Samuel Hahnemann's original intention. May I invite you to a journey, where a thorough examination of text and words leads to some surprising insights? And possibly, a better understanding of some principles in the Organon can help to build a bridge between homeopaths from various approaches, and thus be a chance for further developments. Aude sapere – dare to be wise! Part 1 of this article was published in a previous issue of Links.

Key words

Organon - Translations - Former meaning of words - Whole disease - Inner core of disease - Symptom totality - Main issues - Blockage - Cure - Developments - Unity

References

• 1 Hahnemann S. Organon der Heilkunst – Textkritische Ausgabe der 6. Auflage (Josef M. Schmidt). Stuttgart; Haug 2002
• 2 Hahnemann S. Organon of Medicine – translated by William Boericke. Reprint. New Delhi; B. Jain 1992
• 3 Grimm J, Grimm W. Deutsches Wörterbuch. Leipzig: S. Hirzel 1854–1960. Quellenverzeichnis. http://germazope.uni-trier.de/Projects/WBB/woerterbuecher/woerterbuecher/dwb/wbgui March 2010
• 4 Goethe-Wörterbuch. Hg. von der Berlin-Brandenburgischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Stuttgart; Verlag Kohlhammer 1978 http://(http://germazope.uni-trier.de/Projects/WBB/woerterbuecher/woerterbuecher/gwb/wbgui March 2010
• 5 Wahrig-Burfeind R. Wahrig-Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache. München; dtv 2007
• 6 Gebhardt K H. Buchbesprechung (Köster W: die Logik der Ganzheit).  AHZ. 2008;  253 34-35
• 7 Kent J T. Repertory of the Homoeopathic Materia Medica. New Delhi; B. Jain 1990
• 8 Scholten J. Homöopathie und die Elemente. 4th ed. Utrecht; Stichting Alonnisos 2006
• 9 Bönninghausen-Seminar 4/07, Ergoldsbach, by Christa Weishappel and Karin Frye-Hausberger; own seminar notes. 

1 It depends, of course, on the quality of the very explanation. Often, symptoms are explained by a diagnosis, although the diagnosis is quite frequently only the name of a symptom or of a certain group of symptoms.

2 Today, sonderlich is either used in the negative, and then still means special, particular (i.e., being a synonym to besonders); this meaning applies no longer to its use in the positive. When now used in the positive, it is a synonym to sonderbar, strange.

3 Further interesting thoughts and insights can be found in Jan Scholten's “Homoeopathy and the Elements”, chapters 8.6. and 8.7.

4 Much of the knowledge above is preconditional for working with the Boenninghausen method. Parallels to the Sensation method include looking at the chief complaint, though from a different point of view; and there were early signs of looking at sensations running through the case [9].

5 This attitude recalls the famous story of the blind men describing an elephant. Each of them had only felt a part, but thought he – and he alone – would know what an elephant is.