TOTALITY

Healthy condition of Man:  The spirit-like Vital Force maintains harmonious life in such a way that man may live his daily life for higher purposes, i.e. higher good.  Man is born endowed with Vital Force so that he will use his life for higher good.  This Vital Force originates from the Consciousness.  This Vital Force, which is a subtle power, is all pervading from the subtlest level to the grossest level.  Frittering away or misuse of the Vital Force at the expense of more creative, and ‘good’ work pollutes the atmosphere and man’s own inner organic chemistry, cause disturbances in the environment which in turn upsets the Vital Force more.  Thus man lives in antagonism with himself, thus unable to restore his balance himself. Hence the need for a remedy to help restore the Vital Force to its right path/place.

            Everyone has personally experienced that one’s anger, grief, fear, etc disables one; these negative qualities would provoke one into eating wrong food, then wrong reactions and thus disharmony, which is disease.  So diseases due to disharmony are the effects of disturbances.  Continuous disharmony creates various diseases.

Totality: adding up various and all components of an ill state in a living organism, collecting all these at one place so that it receives the attention and give due value to each component and form image of the disease, is the purpose of Anamnesis.

One totality is the recording of all symptoms be it common, peculiar, mental etc., howsoever trivial to the patient or seem to be trivial to the physician. Out of these, symptoms are selected for a succinct picture of the disease, that is the minimum syndrome of maximum value.  This ‘minimum syndrome of maximum value’ is the ‘totality’ i.e. mind, - emotional and mental, spirit, bodily complaints and functional disturbances which prevents one functioning freely and rightly – Homœopathy justifies, Homœopathy alone justifies to be called as ‘Integral’ Medicine.  Every fragment is considered in its integral state with the whole.

The Law of Direction of Cure which is actually “HAHNEMANN’s Three Rules concerning the Rank of Symptoms” – so-called Hering’s Law shows that health is integral – healing from within without, above down…., centre to the periphery.

The ‘totality’ should show the direction in which the disease is moving – from without within, etc. or stuck in some part/location.  The word ‘totality’ must be understood as ‘integral’.  This is exclusive, unique to Homœopathy; the mastering of the case taking in its totality which means in all its subtle nuances is essential; and it takes long experience and persistent working at it.  HAHNEMANN has said that this is the most difficult part of the whole process of treatment.

The physician case taking is holistic in this way of case taking; the totality is thus attained.  We must bear in mind that homœopathic case taking relates not only to the presenting symptoms but certainly also to the pre-pathology state, before the tissue changes began.  In this manner the image, the portrait of the disease is drawn, a portrait as presented by the patient, faithfully.  Since the ‘Provings’ are the basis of the medicines which are ‘facts’ as expressed by the Prover, the disease picture too should be as presented by the patient himself/herself. (§83-103).

What are the components of this Totality?

1.      All the symptom revealed by the patient, in a chronological manner, with particular stress on the sensations, intensity, location, modalities and the concomitants.

2.      Each symptom must contain its location, sensation, modality.  Peculiarity must be noted?

3.      Information obtained by interrogation by the practitioner; supplemented or augmented by those close to the patient.

4.      observations by the Practitioner including the signs, expressions, skin color, tone, external manifestations – warts, eruptions, swellings, temperature, pulse, etc. etc.

5.      The causes for the symptom, their times of occurrences, etc.

6.      The Practitioner gathers as much data as he possibly can.

The detective’s approach to the investigations of a crime should be the examples.

The detective collects enormous data.

      Careful analysis of the data is essential after which the totality image is drawn- the Gestat.

In all these and in the subsequent analysis there is no place for imagination, fancy, speculation, theory, etc.

     “Die Beobachtung des Heilkünstlers setzt eine, bei gemeinen Aertzten auch nicht in mittlermäßigen Grade anzutreffende Fähighkeit eine Uebung voraus, die Erscheinungen bei den natürlichen Krankheiten sowohl als bei den durch Arzneien in ihrer Prüfung am gesunden Körper künstlich erregten Kranheitszuständen genau und treffend wahrzunehmen und mit den natürlichen Ausdrücken zu bezeichnen.

     Um das Kranken zu Beobachtende genau wahrzunehmen, muß man alle Gedanken darauf richten, sich gleichsam aus sich selbst setzen und sich so zu sagen, an den Gegenstand mit aller Fassungskraft anheften, damit uns nichts entgehe, was wirklich da ist, zur Sache gehört durch jeden offenen Sinn empfangen werden kann.  Da muß die dichterisse Sinnbildungskraft, der gaukelnde Witz und die Vermuthung einstweilen verstammen, und alles vernünfteln, Deuteln und Erklärenwollen muß unterdrückt bleiben.  Der Beobachter ist blos da, um die Erscheinung und den Vorgang aufzufassen; seine Aufmerksamkeit allein muß wachen, daß ihm im der Gegenwart nicht nur nichts entshclüppe, sondern daß auch das Wahrgenommene so richtig verstanden werde, als es wirklich ist.”    

THE MEDICAL OBSERVER

            In order to be able to observe well, the medical practitioner requires to possess, what is not to be met with among ordinary physicians even in a moderate degree, the capacity and habit of noticing carefully and correctly the phenomena that take place in natural diseases, as well as those that occur in the morbid states artificially excited by medicines when they are tested upon the healthy body, and the ability to describe them in the most appropriate and natural expressions. 

            In order accurately to perceive what is to be observed in patients, we should direct all our thoughts upon the matter we have on hand, come out of ourselves, as it were, and fasten ourselves, so to speak, with all over powers of concentration upon it, in order that nothing that is actually present, that has to do with the subject, and that can be ascertained by all the senses, may escape us. Poetic fancy, fantastic wit and speculation, must for the time be suspended, and all over-strained reasoning, forced interpretation and tendency to explain away things must be suppressed.  The duty of the observer is only to take notice of the phenomena and their course; his attention should be on the watch, not only that nothing actually present escape his observation, but that also what he observes be understood exactly as it is. 

      § 24: There remains, therefore, no other mode of employing medicines in diseases that promises to be of service besides the homœopathic, by means of which we seek, for the totality of the symptoms of the case of disease, a medicine which among all medicines (whose pathogenetic effects are known from having been tested in healthy individuals) has the power and the tendency to produce an artificial morbid state most similar to that of the case of disease in question.

     § 25 Now, however, in all careful trials, pure experience, the sole and infallible oracle of the healing art, teaches us that actually that medicine which, in its action on the healthy human body, has demonstrated its power of producing the greatest number of symptoms similar to those observable in the case of disease under treatment, does also, in doses of suitable potency and attenuation, rapidly, radically and permanently remove the totality of the symptoms of this morbid state, that is to say (§§ 6 – 16),the whole disease present, and change it into health; and that all medicines cure, without exception, those diseases whose symptoms most nearly resemble their own, and leave none of them uncured.

      There are some statements, aphorisms, instructions, whatever we may call, what are taught through the Organon, which have remained unaltered: § 9 in ed. I;  § 8, in ed II, III;  § 9, in ed. IV; § 7 in ed.V, VI.:   “. . . . die Gesamtheit dieser ihrer Symptome, dieses nach außen reflectierende Bild des inneren Wesens der Krankheit (in ed. I – III ”das einzige seyn, wodurch  die Krankheit zu erkennen geben kann, welches Heilmittel sie bedürfe, das einzige, was die Wahl des angemessensten Heilmittels bestimmen kann . . . “ and in eds. IV – VI: “ d.i. das Leidens der Lebenskraft, das Hauptsächlichste oder Einzige seyn,  . . . “ . . . . . so muß, mit einem Worte, die Gesamtheit der Symptome für . . der . . . .”  

§ 18 remains unchanged from I to VI

I edn. “dieser Symptomen-komplex” (This symptom-Complex = KSS).  In all subsequent editions it is “Gesamtheit  der Symptome(n) (Totality of the symptom = KSS).

§ 71 Gruppen gewisser Symptomen (Groups of clear symptom)

GKMS: Gesamtheit. S.786 – Gesamtheit der Symptome (Vorwort G.A.WEMBER’s MM 1836. (Totality of Symptom)

                                       651 -  die möglichen Aggregate von Symptomen aller dereinst

                                       könnenden Krankheits-Fänennen . . .”

Ganz (whole, total): §§ 7, 12, 13, 15, 103, 189, 190, 191, 193, 217.

Symptomenreihe (Symptom series): § 104: “ . . . . aus deren Symptomen-reihe eine künstliche Krankheit zusammengesetzt werden kann, der Haupt-Symptomen-Gesammtheit . . .”

§§ 152, 153: Symptomen-reihe . . . . §152: “ . . . . aus denen Krankheits-Elementen sich, dem Symptomen-Inbegriffe der natürlichen Krankheit gegenüber , ein sehr ähnliches Bild vor heilender Krankheit zusammenletzt legt.

§ 154  ;  “ . . . . . Symptomen-reihe . . . . zusammengesetzte-Gegenbild . . .”

§ 162.

I. Anmerkung Hahnemanns in William Cullens Abhandlung über die Materia Medica 1790.  “Mit kurzem: auch die mir bei Wechselfiebern gewöhnlichen besonders characterischen Symptomen, die Stumpfheit der Sinne, die Art von Steifigkeit in allen Gelenken, besonders aber die taube widrige Empfindung, welche in den Periosteum über allen Knochen der ganzen Körpers ihren Sitzzu haben scheint – all erscheinen.  Dieser Paroxysm dauerte zwei bis drei Stunden jedesmahl, and erneute sich, wenn ich diese Gabe wiederholte, sonst nicht.  Ich hörte afuf, und ich war gesund.    

II. Vorerinnerung (Forword) in: RAML 2 Th.1816: “ . . . . und so bei jedem der übrigen Symptome, von welcher Arznei jeder erregt wird, um dann aus dieser Liste abzunehmen, welches

Arzneimittel  unter den übrigen die meisten der vorhandnen Beschwerden homöopathisch decken kann vorzüglich die sonderlichsten und characteristischesten – und dies ist das gesuchte Heilmittel. . . . “

III. Eigentümlich: (belonging exclusively to; proper to; peculiar to; characteristic of; peculiar, singular, odd, strange, queer).

Vorrede: In RAML, I. Th. Dresden 1811, II 1822, III. 1830: “ . . . . .Hier ist der Ort nicht, Anleitung zu geben, wie nach der vorgefundenen Symptomengruppe des jedesmaligen Krankheitsfalles ein Heilmittel auszuwählen sey, welches die möglichst    ähnliche Gruppe von eigenthümlichen Symptomen in seiner reiner Wirkungen gezeigt hat.  Dies ward in Organon gelehrt, so wie das es über die Gaben zu homöopathischem Behufe im Allgemeinen zu sagen war.

   Die möglichste Kleinheit derselben reicht zu dieser Absicht hin . . . . “

“ . . . . (versteht sich, daß jeder ein Fall sei, wofür schon unter den, nach ihren eigenthüm-lichen Symptomen bekannt gemachten, eine Homöopathische ähnliche Arznei zu finden ist), und wenden die passendest homöopathisch aufgefundene Arzneisubstanz rein und unvermischt gegen den jedesmaligen Krankheitsfall an, in einer Gabe von Kleinheit, . . . . . . . . .” 

Totality: My Totality, Your Totality, Their Totality, All things are connected; each person is a singular Unity.  The totality must contain every altered functional (Geristig) and feeling (Gemüt)