Two Approaches To (Direct/ Indirect) And Two Concepts Of Disease (Tonic/ Pathic)

Hahnemann gave credit where credit was due. Some of the allopathic medicines worked positively through trial and error, even though it was a flook and no useful knowledge was gained for future reference. Hahnemann came to understand this when he began to outline the concepts of disease. His theory was that disease could produce two different forms; constant and variable. The constant approach is the direct approach. Knowing what has worked before in the past for certain conditions where the symptom picture remained the same from case to case. This explains why and how allopaths sometimes succeeded without knowing how. It is generally easy to prescribe a medicine for a constant and should be the initial aim of the practitioner. The treatment takes the shortest amount of time to cure with the least number of remedies. The variable specifics were diseases that did not have a fixed outcome of the patients reactions or symptoms. Since it was not as easy as looking up past cases and referencing, it was considered the indirect form, directing itself at the variable signs and symptoms of the true disease rather than the true disease of constant nature. They varied from case to case and depended on the “totality of characteristic symptoms,” or in other words the individuals variable specific symptom picture. He then would only have to match this with a proving. This is the form of disease where two people with the same “diagnosis” will receive different medicines. Therefore a diagnosis is only relevant in a constant form, and has little if any value in a variable case. Hahnemann came to realize that the variable and constant approaches outlined the concepts of the two sides of disease; tonic and pathic.. The individualized, variable specifics relate to the pathic side. Where the expressions of the disease are collected and matched to the same expressions shown by healthy people. This side is mainly the basis of Homeopathy- similar suffering. This is the only side used by, or known by classical homeopaths. The constant fixed diseases sees the underlying issues (such as miasms) and perceives the patients expressions supersensibly, considering outside influences that may show itself in other ways such as state of mind; things the patient cannot see in themselves such as attitude, physical condition, complexion, etc. These diseases once diagnosed are direct to cure because the remedy always stays the same. These are two examples (constant/ variable, tonic/pathic) that supports the view that Hahnemann had in terms of seeing opposite things as a whole that work hand in hand together with each other, a functional duality (dynamically).