Homeopathy emerged from the teachings and writings of Samuel Hahnemann (1755–1843), a German physician. Dr. Hahnemann became disillusioned with the common medical practices of his day. This was a very primitive period in medicine, when treatments included the use of leeches, bloodletting, purges, and toxic chemicals. In articles written in the 1780s and 1790s, Dr. Hahnemann was openly critical of these extreme practices. He wrote:
For several centuries, a whole range of causes, which I could not begin to enumerate, have led to the downgrading of that divine science, clinical medicine, to the level of a wretched, money-grubbing exercise in the whitewashing of symptoms and a demeaning traffic in prescriptions—indeed, God forgive us—to a more mechanical trade in which Hippocrates is lost to sight amidst a rabble of charlatans.
Dr. Hahnemann advocated good hygiene, improved nutrition, better housing conditions, fresh air, and exercise as foundations for health. In 1790, he began translating A Treatise on Materia Medica by the Scottish physician and chemist William Cullen (1710–1790). Dr. Cullen was a respected scientist and lecturer who was also critical of many medical practices of his era.
While translating Cullen’s work, Hahnemann examined it critically. Cullen recommended quinine for malaria on the basis that it was a strong astringent. Hahnemann reasoned that there were other astringents that did not work against malaria. He also observed that when he took quinine himself, he developed symptoms resembling malaria. From these observations, he began to develop the concept of “similars,” one of the foundational principles of homeopathy.
The principle of similars is commonly summarized as “like cures like.” In homeopathy, a substance that produces symptoms in a healthy person is believed to stimulate healing in a sick person with similar symptoms. The term homeopathy was coined by Hahnemann from two Greek words: homeo, meaning “similar,” and pathos, meaning “suffering.”
Hahnemann outlined his ideas in two major works: A New Principle for Ascertaining the Curative Powers of Drugs and Some Examinations of Previous Principles (1796) and The Organon of Rational Medicine (1810). In 1812, he began teaching homeopathy at the University of Leipzig.
Homeopathy was introduced to the United States by students of Hahnemann in the late 19th century. By the end of that century, it had gained considerable popularity; approximately 15% of American physicians practiced homeopathy. By the early 1900s, there were 22 homeopathic medical schools, 100 homeopathic hospitals, and more than 1,000 homeopathic pharmacies. Institutions that taught homeopathy during this period included New York Medical College, Boston University, and Stanford University.
As the 20th century progressed, homeopathy declined in prominence. This decline coincided with the rise of the modern pharmaceutical industry and the growing influence of the American Medical Association. In the late 20th century, however, interest in homeopathy resurged—a trend that continues today. This renewed interest appears to be driven, in part, by public dissatisfaction with conventional medicine and concerns about the pharmaceutical industry.
