Meditsiiniline alkeemia 19. sajandil: elektrohomöopaatia teoreetilised ja praktilised lähtekohad

Abstract

Medical alchemy emerged within the Western alchemical tradition in the 13th–14th centuries. However, well-established medical alchemy can be considered the iatrochemistry of the 16th century. In this article, I focus on the continuation of the alchemical tradition in the second half of the 19th century, using the electrohomeopathy created by Cesare Mattei as an example. Electrohomeopathy, also known as Mattei’s treatment of cancer or Matteism, is a form of homeopathy developed by Count Cesare Mattei (1809–1896) in the second half of the 19th century. Because the drugs invented by Mattei had such strength and rate of action that allowed them to be compared to electric current, he called the method electrohomeopathy. They had no other connection to electricity. It is important to emphasize this again, as later interpretations and explanations of electrohomeopathy link the effects of drugs to plant electricity or bioenergy (Odyle energy, organ energy, prana). Electrohomeopathy created by Mattei is based on homeopathy, but he thought it was in need of further development. In his electrohomoeopathy he saw a great reformation of homoeopathy. Mattei acknowledged Hahnemann’s similarity principle while criticizing his doctrine because it used, as he said, only remedies that were not combined and only addressed the symptoms. Like complex homoeopaths he thought that the use of single remedies was a mistake that held back the development of homoeopathy. Mattei relied on both homeopathy and an earlier alchemical tradition in creating the treatment system. At the same time, he took over the ideas of contemporary science and integrated them into his treatment system. Electrohomeopathy is a further development of iatrochemistry, clearly based on the science of its time, and has nothing mystical or occult in it. Electrohomeopathy is very well characterized by the fact that alchemical practices and theories changed over time and adapted to changed contexts. According to its developer, this is an empirical treatment system, which says that the first step is to test the effects of drugs and to establish a theory on that basis. Modern electrohomeopathy is characterized by an abundance of drugs used and the introduction of mystical explanations.