Homeopathy/Catalogs
At Larry's suggestion, I created this on a subpage. The first column text was written to be a little light-hearted. It certainly can be refined, but the refinements must add precision, rather than attack it.
I propose that the bulk of effort go into the second and third columns. In some places, I clearly do not know the homeopathic term for something that still, apparently, exists. Replacing question marks with unambiguous terms would be greatly appreciated.
By unambiguous, I do not meaning redefining a term of art from the other discipline. For example, it seems fairly clear that homeopaths and mainstream physicians do not think of "symptom" in the same way. Were someone to disambiguate symptom (homeopathic) and symptom (medical), and do all of the needed changes in articles that already use the term, that would be one way to resolve such a difficulty.
Also, I would request that comparative terminology be as specific as possible. Homeostasis (biology) and immune systems are extremely broad topics, at too high a level for direct comparison. There are a number of articles, in various levels of development, about specific immune mechanisms; more are needed (e.g., basophil and mast cell). In some cases, all that may be needed is a subsection (e.g., how medicine and homeopathy stabilize mast cells, if, in fact, they agree they do that.
There's certainly nothing wrong with adding additional concept rows. Howard C. Berkowitz 17:43, 21 October 2008 (UTC)
| Concept | One side's term(s) | The other side's term(s) |
|---|---|---|
| That form of healthcare practiced by trained and licensed professionals who have never heard of Hahnemann. | conventional physicians, allopath | Physician, biomedical specialist, non-homeopathic physician |
| That form of healthcare practiced by trained and licensed professionals who believe Hahnemann is the greatest healer in history | Homeopath | Alternative practitioner using homeopathy |
| Someone who believes that Hahnemann defined an essentially perfect system that needs only minor refinements, and that every case is inherently different | ?? some distinctions as made in types of chiropractic approach | Physician, biomedical specialist, non-homeopathic physician, mainstream medicine' |
| Someone who believes that Hahnemann defined a system that was superior to what the other kind of practitioner did in the 19th and early 20th century, but was largely made obsolete by processes that can be defined and measured, yet used with judgment appropriate for the individual, |
skeptic, critic | Biomedical scientist, one trained by the evolved system proposed by Abraham Flexner |
| Bodily responses to abnormality (symptoms or signs), for which molecular or other objective mechanisms can be described in substantial detail | ??? | no single term: metabolic homeostasis (biology) (including anabolism and catabolism, mitosis and apoptosis, immune mechanisms (see note below) including cell-mediated [note 1] and humoral immunity [note 2] |
| Bodily responses to abnormality (symptoms or signs), for which no formal mechanism is defined | Vital force, natural healing processes of the bodywe also call it symptoms amd signs (see my description of vital force) | ??? |
| The thing added to a larger amount of something so the thing can be taken by the patient | similimum | active ingredient; drug |
| Guidance on best treatment | (medical training and literature (Note 4), clinical decision support system & materia medica, repertory | (medical training and literature (Note 4), clinical decision support system |
| The thing administered to an individual to cause a measurable physiologic reaction | ??? | active ingredient; drug |
| The thing administered to an individual to cause a measurable immune response, usually active immunity. There may be immediate symptoms, but producing them is not a goal | vaccine/antigen | vaccine, antigen |
| The something to which the small amount of the other thing can be added | water (but there apparently are things that are not water, such as ethanol), or, in the body of the article, lactose. Is water the only something that has memory? | Diluent (water & ethanol), vehicle(lactose) |
| Opinion and trust not based on statistical analysis | Popularity | Lay opinion |
| Administration of a substance to healthy volunteers to determine its effects [Note ] | Homeopathic proving | Phase I randomized controlled trial |
Note 1: phagocytosis, agglutination as by eosinophils, nonspecific recognition by macrophages
Note 2: changes in immunoglobulins, complement, opsonization
Note 3: terminology conflict: while a homeopathic preparation is considered, by homeopaths, to have the desired effect of producing symptoms, physicians do not necessarily regard symptoms as physiologic changes. signs, clinical pathology results, and changes in diagnostic imaging do indicate change
Note 4: A pair of standard texts such as Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, cross-referenced to Goodman & Gilman's Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics are regarded as starting points -- but need not be consulted in every case.