Unpacking a Nugget From Hahnemann
The mind of Hahnemann, as we have retained in his writings, was one of genius and a deep scientific consciousness. As with any work of genius, whether from the realm of art, or of science, repeated readings of a work continue to reveal nuances and layers of meaning which were not obvious at first. Repeated readings of Hahnemann’s Organon continues to unfold its meaning for me.
In a previous series of blog posts, I sketched out some of the medical approach we can use when beginning to treat the ideogenic realm in a patient (of core beliefs, illusions, and delusions). While Hahnemann, in his own lifetime, did not explore this realm to any extent, he did leave some clues behind as to how a map of treatment could begin to be constructed for these “highest diseases”, as he termed them.
In aphorism #224 of the Organon, Hahnemann made an important distinction between “mental” (or “spiritual”) diseases which were independent from a somatic root, versus those that were manifested from such a root. Depending on the origin, he outlined whether a curative approach through the law of similars was required (in the case of the somatically-anchored belief states), or simply an approach of re-balancing, as could be done through the law of opposites (ie simple counselling, or just talking someone out of their way of thinking gone temporarily astray).
In the midst of this aphorism, Hahnemann introduces a fascinating sequence of possible origins of such a false belief state, which he presented as follows : “faulty upbringing, bad habits, perverted morality, neglect of the spirit, superstitions or ignorance”. This is a fascinating sequence, and if you think about it, it can logically flow forward or backwards, such as : Ignorance (ie disconnection from the truth) can lead to superstitions, which cause neglect of the spirit, perverted morality, bad habits, and finally, faulty upbringing, when the cycle starts over again. Understanding this sequence in both directions, and how it operates in cultures and families as a vicious cycle is necessary to developing a therapeutic approach which knows exactly how to break the cycle, and prevent it from re-infecting the next generation. The need for properly applied regimen, medicine and education are necessary for dismantling such a layered construct of belief.