Samuel Hahnemann
- founder of homeopathic medicineSamuel Hahnemann was trained in the standard medical practice of his day and licensed as a physician in 1779. In 1796, he gave up his practice because he was disturbed by the poor results of orthodox medical treatment. He supported himself by working as a translator of medical texts. In the course of translating an English physician's research on a treatment for malaria, Hahnemann experimented on himself with small doses of the drug until he responded to it by developing symptoms resembling malaria. He concluded that the curative powers of the substance were derived from its ability to produce symptoms resembling those of its target disease. Hahnemann's reasoning was similar to that of Edward Jenner, who discovered the principle of vaccination in 1798 by observing that exposure to a mild form of pox conferred immunity against smallpox, a deadly disease with similar symptoms.
Hahnemann followed up his experiment by studying local records of accidental poisonings from commonly used medications. He found that when these substances were taken in overdose, they produced symptoms similar to those of the diseases for which they were given. For example, mercury was used to treat syphilis, but could cause syphilis-like ulcers in high doses. Hahnemann referred to his discovery as "the law of similars"--that substances that produced specific symptoms when given to healthy people in sufficient quantity could heal sick people of similar symptoms when given in highly diluted forms. He then began to analyze the remedies available in nature by what he called provings. Provings of homeopathic remedies are still compiled by dosing healthy adults with various substances and documenting the results, in terms of the dose needed to produce the symptoms and the length of the dose's effectiveness. The symptoms are then classified in three categories, depending on whether they are produced in all provers, in a majority of provers, or only in a small number. The findings are collected in large homeopathic reference works called materia medica or materials of medicine as well as in homeopathic repertories.