A new paradigmatic framework for integrative medicine, and its implications for medicine and politics

One of the major shortcomings of the discussion concerning integrative medicine is often an insufficient awareness of the peculiarity and multi-dimensionality of the object in question, on the part of critics and advocates alike. Focusing on homeopathy as an example, this paper points out that the essence of this unique concept of healing cannot be wholly understood without a basic knowledge of the dimensions that constitute it. The three traditions of thinking on which it is based date back to antiquity, namely: lógos -thinking, hómoion -thinking and iásthai -thinking, i.e. thinking in terms of rationality, similarity and healing. While modern medicine is, for the most part, driven by reasoning in terms of quantification and generalisation, this at the cost of neglecting the remaining two dimensions, – homeopathy, due to its methodology, finds itself constantly searching to find a balance for all of its constituents. This model of a three-dimensional art of healing may serve as a paradigm for integrative medicine to recollect an awareness of its own strength and multi-dimensionality, and, finally, also for medicine and politics in general. • Integrative medicine may be understood as being comprised of three constituting dimensions. • Like homeopathy, it seems to be rooted in the ancient traditions of lógos -, hómoion - and iásthai -thinking. • By contrast, modern medicine is predominantly dominated by lógos -thinking, at the expense of the others. • This insight might well have a considerable impact on the discourse of integrative medicine. • It also provides a revealing paradigm for assessing life, science, culture, and politics.