In Aphorisms 19–21 of the Organon of Medicine, Samuel Hahnemann explains a fundamental question of Homoeopathic philosophy:
Why do medicines cure diseases?
What exactly is curative in medicines?
This topic forms the philosophical foundation of Homoeopathy and is extremely important for BHMS examinations as well as viva voce.
1. What is Disease?
According to Hahnemann:
- Disease is an alteration in the state of health of a previously healthy individual.
- It is not merely a structural lesion but a dynamic disturbance of the living organism.
- Disease expresses itself through signs and symptoms.
Symptoms are not the disease itself — they are the outward expression of the internal derangement of the vital force.
2. What is Cure?
Cure means:
- Restoration of the diseased individual to the original healthy state.
- Removal of the altered condition of health.
Therefore, if disease is an altered state of health, cure must be a change back to the normal state.
This leads to the central idea:
A medicine can cure only if it has the power to alter the state of health.
3. What is Curative in Medicines?
Hahnemann clearly states that:
The Curative Power Lies in the Ability to Alter Health
A substance becomes a medicine because it has the power to change the state of health in a living organism.
- In a healthy person → it produces disease-like symptoms.
- In a diseased person → it can remove similar symptoms.
Thus, the power to alter health is the curative principle.
This Power Cannot Be Known by Guesswork
The hidden, dynamic ability of a drug:
- Cannot be discovered by speculation.
- Cannot be understood through reasoning alone.
- Cannot be inferred from tradition or assumption.
Only experience and observation can reveal it.
Curative Power is Not Based on Physico-Chemical Properties
The medicinal action of drugs:
- Does not depend merely on chemical composition.
- Is not fully explained by physical properties.
- Is dynamic in nature.
This is why laboratory analysis alone cannot reveal the complete therapeutic action of a medicine.
Doctrine of Signature is Unreliable
The so-called Doctrine of Signature suggests that:
- A plant’s appearance indicates its medicinal use.
For example:
- A yellow plant cures jaundice.
- A heart-shaped leaf cures heart disease.
Hahnemann rejected this approach because:
- The curative principle is not visible externally.
- External appearance does not reveal internal dynamic power.
Only Experience on the Healthy Reveals Drug Action
The true curative properties of a medicine can be known only by:
Observing its effects on healthy human beings.
This forms the basis of Drug Proving.
4. Drug Proving – The Scientific Method of Homoeopathy
Hahnemann introduced a rational method to study medicines:
Definition:
Drug proving is the process of administering a medicine to healthy individuals and recording all the changes it produces.
Key Points of Drug Proving
- Pure experiments must be conducted on healthy individuals.
- Medicines produce definite, observable symptoms.
- These symptoms indicate:
- Disease-producing power
- Disease-curing power
Thus, medicines cure because they can produce similar symptoms, but stronger than the natural disease.
This is the basis of:
Similia Similibus Curentur
(Let likes be cured by likes)
5. How Drugs Act in Health and Disease
When a drug is administered:
- In a healthy person → it produces an artificial disease.
- In a sick person → it replaces the natural disease if similar, and the stronger artificial disease extinguishes the weaker natural disease.
Hence:
A drug is a drug because it can change the state of health.
The study of pharmacology in Homoeopathy is therefore the study of altered sensations and functions in the living organism.
6. Methods of Ascertaining Drug Action
Hahnemann described three approaches:
Empirical Method
- Based on tradition.
- Accidental discovery.
- Haphazard observation.
❌ Unscientific and unreliable.
Pseudo-Rational Method
- Based on Doctrine of Signature.
- Based on physico-chemical appearance.
❌ Faulty inference and superficial reasoning.
Rational Method (Homoeopathic Method)
- Administer drugs to living beings.
- Observe and record changes.
This method may involve:
- Animal provings
- Human provings
7. Animal Provings
Advantages:
- Structural changes can be studied.
- Anatomico-pathological changes can be observed.
Limitations:
- Subjective symptoms cannot be recorded.
- Drug effects may differ from humans.
8. Human Provings (Superior Method)
Advantages:
- Subjective symptoms can be studied.
- Mental and emotional changes can be recorded.
Limitations:
- Analytical pharmacological mechanisms cannot be studied.
- Structural pathology is not the focus.
Hahnemann preferred human provings, as Homoeopathy treats the patient based on totality of symptoms — especially subjective symptoms.
The curative power of medicines depends on:
- The similarity of their produced symptoms to the natural disease.
- The superiority in strength of the artificial disease produced by the medicine.
Thus:
Medicines cure because they have the dynamic power to alter the state of health in a similar but stronger manner.