Samuel Hahnemann: Founder of Homeopathy
Samuel Hahnemann (1755—1843) was a German physician and chemist known as the founder of homeopathy, an alternative medicine based on the principle similia similibus curentur (“like heals like”). His discoveries and theories brought a revolutionary but also controversial approach to the medical world.
Hahnemann began his career as a doctor but became frustrated with the harsh and often harmful treatments of his time, such as bloodletting and the use of toxic drugs. He focused on scientific research and translated medical texts to support his family. While translating a text about cinchona bark, a well-known treatment for malaria, he discovered something remarkable.
Hahnemann decided to ingest cinchona bark himself, although he did not suffer from malaria. To his surprise, the cinchona bark caused him symptoms very similar to malaria. This gave him the idea that a substance that causes certain symptoms in a healthy person can cure the same symptoms in a sick person. This became the basis for his homeopathic principles.
To avoid the harmful side effects of drugs, Hahnemann also developed the process of potentiate : the repeated dilution and shaking of a substance. He believed that this would activate the healing capacity of a substance while the toxic effects disappeared.
