Materia Medica for the New-Age Man

I was interested in reading and reviewing a book finally dealing with the new-age man and the problems linked with modern technological society, our immersion in EMFs (electro Magnetic fields) through smartphones, computers, tablets and other gadgets.

The higher the expectations, the harder the fall.

It starts with a succinct introduction and definition of homeopathy and its method, with a biography of Hahnemann where on page 34 it is claimed that Hahnemann became a Muslim! Really? Seriously?

In the chapter on Vital Force, some information is given about other energetic techniques such as acupuncture, ayurveda, manual medicine, all in a very concentrated and summarised form that is not incorrect but gives a wrong picture of the other methods. Miasms are summarised too. Case taking, an essential and vital element of the homeopathic consultation, is dealt within barely three pages.

Pages 91 and 92 are about the Doctrine of Dosage: The Arndt-Schultz law is described as ‘Small doses encourage life, large doses impede life, very large doses destroy life’, immediately followed by the affirmation, the low potencies are stimulant, medium potencies are regulatory and high potencies are depressant. The Arndt-Schultz law is a pharmacological law that deals with doses, meaning material amounts. Potencies are exactly the opposite, meaning that the higher the potency, the smaller the dose, the material amount. The author does not seem to understand the difference between dose and potency and that confusion is again obvious on page 101, where writing about Organotherapy, the claim is made that a 4C Sarcode will stimulate the organ, a 7C will regulate it and a 9C will suppress its function, followed by the immediate contradiction that a ‘200K is optimal for regulating organ function’. This is yet another one of those homeopathic fairy tales that are taught and transmitted by many colleges and from teacher to students without any basis. A patient, an organ or a function will need stimulation or regulation according to his/her state of health and the potency to do that will be the one resonating with the situation at that time, nothing more, nothing less.

Still no mention of anything New Age...may be in the Materia Medica itself that starts on page 123. Not a chance: over the next 77 pages, we find snapshots of many remedies, barely a short description, a few keynotes and clinical indications, complementarities and interactions. Our largest polychrest, Sulphur is described in one page. Useless.

There is a Clinical Index with remedies for pathologies.... I thought we were supposed to individualise treatment, but certainly this can be of help when dealing with one-sided diseases and not many symptoms to work with.

The title of Chapter 13 is ‘Clinical Tips for Dummies’. Well, thank you very much for the rudeness, the insult and the lack of respect for colleagues who are supposed to buy this book!

What do we end with? A misleading title, a weird historical discovery of religious conversion, a misrepresentation and misunderstanding of the elementary difference between dose and potency, a useless Materia Medica and an insulting grand finale. It does not take a wild imagination to guess where this copy is going to end.