The Birth of Homeopathy out of the Spirit of Romanticism

by Alice Kuzniar

Overview

Homeopathy was founded in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann who ardently proposed that "like cures like," counter to the conventional treatment of prescribing drugs that have the opposite effect to symptoms.

Alice A. Kuzniar critically examines the alternative medical practice of homeopathy within the Romantic culture in which it arose. In The Birth of Homeopathy out of the Spirit of Romanticism, Kuzniar argues that Hahnemann was a product of his time rather than an iconoclast and visionary. It is the first book in English to examine Hahnemann’s unpublished writings, including case journals and self-testings, and links to his contemporaries such as Goethe and Alexander von Humboldt. Kuzniar’s engaging writing style seamlessly weaves together medical, philosophical, semiotic, and literary concerns and reveals homeopathy as a phenomenon of its time. The Birth of Homeopathy out of the Spirit of Romanticism sheds light on issues that continue to dominate the controversy surrounding homeopathy to this very day.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781487512644
Publisher:	University of Toronto Press
Publication date:	04/24/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Alice A. Kuzniar is a professor in the Department of Germanic and Slavic Studies at the University of Waterloo.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

List of Illustrations

Introduction

Chapter One: The Law of Similars

Chapter Two: The Law of the Single Dose

Chapter Three: The Law of Minimum

Conclusion

Notes

Bibliography

Index

What People are Saying About This

Joan Steigerwald

"Alice Kuzniar's The Birth of Homeopathy out of the Spirit of Romanticism is a wonderfully rich work that brings important attention to an overlooked aspect of the medical sciences in the Romantic period. In Kuzniar's beautifully written manuscript, homeopathy is revealed not only to draw upon the rich cultural discourses in which it is situated, but also to feed into them in interesting and important ways."

Peter McIsaac

"The Birth of Homeopathy out of the Spirit of Romanticism represents a sustained, serious and overwhelmingly successful excavation of the thought and practice of homeopathy's originator, Samuel Hahnemann, in the cultural context of its day."

Editorial Reviews

‘Excellent history… This text provides interesting insight into the history of homeopathy and how this history affects the way homeopathy is viewed today.’

—J. Saxton, Choice Magazine vol 55:02:2017

" The Birth of Homeopathy out of the Spirit of Romanticism is an important study that increases our understanding of both Romantic Naturphilosophie and homeopathy in a very significant way. "

—Asko Nivala, European Romantic Review 29:5

"Alice Kuzniar’s The Birth of Homeopathy out of the Spirit of Romanticism is a wonderfully rich work that brings important attention to an overlooked aspect of the medical sciences in the Romantic period. In Kuzniar’s beautifully written manuscript, homeopathy is revealed not only to draw upon the rich cultural discourses in which it is situated, but also to feed into them in interesting and important ways."

—Joan Steigerwald, Associate Professor of Humanities, York University

"The Birth of Homeopathy out of the Spirit of Romanticism represents a sustained, serious and overwhelmingly successful excavation of the thought and practice of homeopathy’s originator, Samuel Hahnemann, in the cultural context of its day."

—Peter McIsaac, Associate Professor of German, University of Michigan

From the Publisher

"The Birth of Homeopathy out of the Spirit of Romanticism is an important study that increases our understanding of both Romantic Naturphilosophie and homeopathy in a very significant way. "

European Romantic Review 29:5 - Asko Nivala

'Excellent history... This text provides interesting insight into the history of homeopathy and how this history affects the way homeopathy is viewed today.'

Choice Magazine vol 55:02:2017 - J. Saxton