Medieval

Depiction of St. Thomas Aquinas from the Demidoff Altarpiece by Carlo Crivelli via Wikipedia

Medieval is a term that usually but not always describes a period of European history. Historical references are sometimes made, for instance, to Medieval India. So this makes the term a bit difficult to define.

The term is also difficult to define because it may be determined by various criteria. Are the dates for the Medieval period set by achievements in art, economics, technology, standard of living, morality, social issues or critical thinking?

Also called the Middle Ages, the Medieval period is generally seen as running from about 1000 CE to 1500 CE, a time when a relative few kings, notables, literati and Church leaders had a firm, exploitative and sometimes ruthless grip on the masses. As for the people who made up the masses, they for the most part were of dramatically lower economic and educational status.

Some say the Middle Ages differ from the Medieval period, with the former beginning about 600 CE. Others use the terms interchangeably, with the Medieval period also beginning in 600 CE or 1000 CE. And yet some see the Medieval period beginning somewhere between the Council of Nicea (313 CE) and the Sack of Rome (410 CE), and extending to the fall of Constantinople in 1453 CE.

The term ‘Middle Ages’ was first used in the 16th century by Renaissance writers describing the period from 600 CE to about 1400 CE because they viewed their own civilization as a reinstatement and elaboration of themes prevalent in ancient Greece and Rome.

Recent views of the Medieval period, whatever it may be, question the idea that it was backward. Several innovations were made, although they were not necessarily as dramatic, technologically speaking, as they were within the periods before and after medieval times. Medieval theologians such as Duns Scotus, William of Ockham and St. Thomas Aquinas, for instance, came up with some of the most amazingly subtle thinking, on a variety of topics, known to mankind. Likewise, Christian polyphonic devotional music underwent dramatic innovations during this time.

—

Search Think Free » à Kempis (Thomas), Alchemy, Archangel, Aristotle, Astrology, Avatar, E-mail, Epicureanism, Epicurus, Francis of Assisi, (St.), Henry of Ghent, Holy Grail, Homer, Judaism, Lewis (C. S.), Lilith, Marx, (Karl), Mercury, Narcissus and Goldmund, Occam’s razor, Proclus, Quiddity, Scholastics, Tokugawa, Vaisya, Werewolf, Zodiac

Related Articles

• Plan for New US Embassy Includes Design Features from Medieval Castles (neatorama.com)
• A Brief History of the Latin Language: Medieval Latin (brighthub.com)
• The Sims Medieval Announced (cinemablend.com)
• The Sims goes medieval in 2011 (geek.com)
• Inside The Medieval Mind: Knowledge (camelswithhammers.com)
• What’s ‘medieval’ about stoning people to death? (blogs.telegraph.co.uk)
• Get Medieval with New Series from EA’s Award-Winning the Sims Studio (eon.businesswire.com)
• Medieval legal history panel at the Kalamazoo medieval conference (volokh.com)
• Archaeologists say Hartlington Stones in Yorkshire Dales were Medieval furnaces (marklord.info)
• Sheep to Sheet (of Parchment) (finebooksmagazine.com)

Add more, report errors or voice your opinion by posting a comment

Corinthians, I and II

Ancient Corinth, urban street (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Corinthians, I and II are letters written by St. Paul to the early Christian community in Corinth. Corinth was the city of Aphrodite, where temples of various Greek deities could be found.

It seems that Paul was concerned about members of the Christian community becoming too individualistic in their faith. Paul emphasizes the ‘body’ of the community, a body with many members. As such, each member has different gifts but belongs to a single body. And those gifts are meaningless if not rooted in unselfish love.

Paul stresses the importance of either unmarried celibacy or married sex, the former being more desirable. Everything else is regarded as sinful. He warns against falling back into idolatry, perhaps due to the community’s precarious location.

Toward the end of the second letter Paul defends himself, Titus and another ‘brother’ against allegations of fraud. Some in the community had voiced concerns that the collection money intended for Jerusalem would be pocketed.

On this point Mike adds:

Something you didn’t mention about 2 Corinthians is that because of the need to defend himself Paul has to describe his ministry. » See in context

Related articles

• 2 Corinthians…Greetings! (promisebook.net)
• The Sheep Dip (brokenbelievers.com)
• 2 Corinthians 1…Greetings! (simplyjuliana.com)
• Sex and the Church (getreal.typepad.com)
• Pilgrimage in Medieval Corinth (mediterraneanworld.wordpress.com)
• Do Everything In Love (lifeofafemalebiblewarrior.wordpress.com)
• Why Do We Expect More from Non-Christians Than Christians? (getreal.typepad.com)
• Modern Commentary on 1st Corinthians by Fr. G. T. Montague (jkarblog.wordpress.com)
• Picking apart the word (Day 5) (revmichaelslifejournal.wordpress.com)
• Images: A Ton of Cattle Bones (livescience.com)

Demons

Demons and Devotion: The Hours of Catherine of Cleves – Demon. Image uploaded by Gwen via Flickr

Most religious and mythological traditions attest to the reality of demons. For the most part, demons are regarded as dark, evil spiritual beings whose sole purpose is to wreak havoc on individuals and the world.

In Hinduism, demons appear in the Puranas as Rakshakas (evil beings capable of shape-shifting) and tramp souls. Also in Hinduism the, at one time, god-like asuras of the Vedas devolve into demonic spirit beings which, the mystic Sri Aurobindo says, try to place false and harmful ideas into the minds of impressionable, vulnerable human beings.

In Tibetan Buddhism, immediately after a person dies a priest reads the Tibetan Book of the Dead aloud over the dead body, instructing the departed soul how to avoid different spiritual lights and deceptions that demonic beings use to try to trick the deceased into falling into another earthly incarnation. And Mahayana Buddhism portrays many hells, each presided over by horrific entities

In China demons are thought to be able to inhabit dead bodies and haunt various places, both inside and out.

Demons in China… are capable of animating dead bodies, haunting cemeteries, cross roads, and the homes of relatives. Some live in Hades…others inhabit the air. Many are hungry ghosts, the spirits of those who have had no proper burial or who have no decendants to feed them sacrifices.¹

Traditional Roman Catholicism doesn’t envision the demon in terms of a psychoanalytic, physiological id or Jungian shadow archetype, as is fashionable in some circles today. Instead, traditional Catholicism makes no bones about the belief in demons. The Prayer Against Satan and The Rebellious Angels, published in 1961 by order of H. H. Pope Leo XIII refers to various “spirits of wickedness,” “diabolical legions” and “infernal invaders” that are to be driven away with the help of this solemn prayer.

Contemporary Catholicism, however, is incorporating secular and psychiatric perspectives on demons, but arguably in a clunky manner that seems to conform to ancient and medieval styles of analyzing issues. This shouldn’t be surprising as certain aspects of Catholic theological discourse borrow from Aristotelian and Thomist analytical categories and modes of analysis. And as history suggests, deeply entrenched patterns of thought and practice usually take time to be positively redirected.

In secular society alleged demons are often described as nothing more than a product of the imagination, hallucinations, an arrested or disturbed personality, mutated chromosomes, or the much debated idea of chemical imbalances. Along these lines the Catholic Catechism makes a sharp distinction between “the presence of the Evil One,” on the one hand, and current understandings of mental illness on the other:

The solemn exorcism, called “a major exorcism,” can be performed only by a priest and with the permission of the bishop. The priest must proceed with prudence, strictly observing the rules established by the Church. Exorcism is directed at the expulsion of demons or to the liberation from demonic possession through the spiritual authority which Jesus entrusted to his Church. Illness, especially psychological illness, is a very different matter; treating this is the concern of medical science. Therefore, before an exorcism is performed, it is important to ascertain that one is dealing with the presence of the Evil One, and not an illness.²

In contrast to the arguably underdeveloped either/or perspective outlined above, a more productive and responsible approach would intelligently consider different perspectives — physiological, psychological, cultural, transpersonal and spiritual — using as many of the analytical tools that are available to us in the 21st century.

Having said that, we should also keep in mind the very real possibility that God could permit a fundamentally good and ‘well adjusted’ person to be afflicted by evil, as we find, for instance, in the Old Testament Book of Job.

Related Posts » Aliens, Alien Possession Theory, Anathema, Angels, Avesta, Bodhi Tree, Bosch (Hieronymus), Christianity, Discernment, Fallen Angels, Hero, Jinn, Lilith, Madness, Mandala, Michael (St.), Miracles, Occam’s razor, Possession, Psychosis, Rakshakas, Shaman, Spiritual Attack, UFO, Underworld

—

¹ S. G. F. Brandon, A Dictionary of Comparative Religion, 1971, p. 230.

² Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1673.

Related articles

• Audio of exorcism performed in Germany, 1976 (NoiseMadeMeDoIt.com)
• Woman Says ‘Exorcist’ Priest Abused Her (courthousenews.com)
• The Religious Demon Thrives Off of Your Investment (pamsheppardpublishing.com)
• Modern Possession (moinarc.wordpress.com)
• As Bad As You Thought?: The Devil Inside (houseofgeekery.com)
• They Don’t Have Enough Problems? Jewish Demonic Possession Returns (reason.com)
• Angels and Demons (probings.wordpress.com)
• Faith, not spinning heads, takes center stage in ‘Exorcist’ play – Articles (wilmingtonfavs.com)
• Clergyman Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Woman During Exorcism Rituals (dreamindemon.com)
• Teen Girl Exorcism Squad: Three Arizona Girls Claim to Cast Out Demons (purestrange.wordpress.com)

Epicurus

Epicurus (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Epicurus (c.341-270 BCE) was a Greek materialist philosopher, born on the island of Samos who founded a school at Mitylene in 310 BCE. In 305 BCE he opened a school of philosophy in Athens, leading an exemplary life of simplicity and temperance.

From a few extant letters and fragments, we learn that Epicurus believed that happiness was the highest good and that life ended at the point of death. This was not the path of wanton hedonism, as some medieval Christian opponents suspected, but rather deliverance from pain and worry.

The Christian disdain for Epicurus, aside from his disbelief in the afterlife, was exacerbated by some of his followers who advocated sensual pleasure-seeking as the highest goal in life. While Epicurus did see pleasure and pain as standards against which to measure a successful or unsuccessful life, he also advocated restraint. And his understanding of pleasure was more akin to the notion of tranquility than a succession of ephemeral thrills.

Related Posts » Epicureanism, Epicurism

Related articles

• Epicureanism (earthpages.wordpress.com)
• How Are We Getting Epicurious? | Philologos | Forward | 27 February 2012 (forward.com)
• Epicurus (fermentation.typepad.com)
• Why Does Epicurus Think That His Radical Views Will Be Persuasive To The Average Person? (timlshort.wordpress.com)
• Stoicism, Epicurism, Hume, and Death: Can Only an Atheist Experience Resurrection? (18thandfairfax.wordpress.com)
• Epicurus: The Greek Philosopher We Shouldn’t Have Forgotten (findingthenextstep.wordpress.com)
• Happiness and Death (phl2121.wordpress.com)

Epicureanism

Ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus, depicted in the Nuremberg Chronicle (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Epicureanism is a school of philosophical thought founded by Epicurus in the 4th century BCE, continuing well into the 3rd century CE. Its central ethical doctrine places personal happiness as the supreme good, to include freedom from fear, worry and pain.

This is not the path of unbridled hedonism, as some of its medieval Christian opponents suspected (most likely due to developments among subsequent Epicurean followers combined with Epicurus’ disbelief in an afterlife).

Epicurean cosmology regarded the universe as an aggregate of atoms, indestructible and randomly patterning themselves throughout eternity in a void, not being directed by any kind of providence—i.e. without a “hand of God.” However, Epicurus believed in the existence of the gods, seeing them as composed of finer atoms than the stuff of the visible world. But he didn’t believe in the Platonic Forms nor, as mentioned, in an afterlife.

Related Posts » Epicurism

Related articles

• Why Does Epicurus Think That His Radical Views Will Be Persuasive To The Average Person? (timlshort.wordpress.com)
• How Are We Getting Epicurious? | Philologos | Forward | 27 February 2012 (forward.com)
• The Stoics and the Epicureans on the soul (philosophyafterdark.wordpress.com)
• “An Epicurean Voyage through Pakistan” (dawn.com)
• Could everyone have a philosophy and even religion of their own? (beinghuman.blogs.fi)
• Modern Epicureans (veritasmizzou.wordpress.com)
• The Epicurean Birder Reveals: Five Places to Get Fat While Birding – a New Series for Culinary Review (prweb.com)

E-mail

Internet Caffe Internet cafe , Republica Dominicana (Photo credit: Remolacha.net pics)

In the 1980′s electronic mail or e-mail was a highly coveted technological novelty available only to the savviest of academics and business persons. Today e-mail is more commonly used than surface mail. Countless internet-based companies such as Microsoft’s hotmail.com, Google’s Gmail, Yahoo.com, Lycos.com and Mail.com, provide free e-mail services to anyone with internet access.

It has become public knowledge that e-mail is a potentially insecure means of communication. This means that it is possible for individuals to legally (as in the workplace) or illegally (as with hackers) intercept another person’s private e-mail.

In ancient and medieval times, power struggles often revolved around the flow of oral and written information. In years past spies attempted to intercept and forge papyrus and, later on, paper scrolls. Today the medium of legitimate and, perhaps, illegitimate competition is predominantly electronic.

Related Posts » Internet

Related articles

• Digital Communication: What is email? How Do I Use it? (sethwinternight.wordpress.com)
• E-mail Service Guide breaks down e-mail plans (news.cnet.com)
• Gmail posts ‘intervention’ tool to wrangle non-users (news.cnet.com)
• IF I Was a Billionaire I Would Build a Multimedia Company That Actually Gave A $@#@!! BEWARE THIS IS KINDA A RANT, LOL (thedarkglobe.wordpress.com)
• Mail.Ru Q1 Earnings: Revenues Up 45% To $160M (techcrunch.com)
• Facebook: Ceglia concealed ‘getzuck’ e-mail account (news.cnet.com)

Evil

"Sauron's eye : my church is turning evil !" by AmUnivers / Amelie at Flickr

The definition of evil is informed by one’s core beliefs, and different kinds of arguments try to explain its existence.

Some materialists and scientists scoff at the idea of evil as if it were an antiquated legacy from a superstitious past.

Violent criminals are usually described in the news in psychiatric terms. Murderers are often reported as having a mental illness instead of being possessed by the devil. However, sometimes callous murderers are called “monsters” so the idea of evil can creep in to our essentially scientific worldview.

Meanwhile, savage tyrants and warlords are often viewed through a historical or, perhaps, political lens.

Evil in Christian theology

A basic theological distinction exists between natural evil and moral evil. Natural evil includes “acts of God” such as floods, earthquakes and avalanches. Moral evil is a conscious human choice to turn away from God’s will and participate in some action harmful to self and possibly others.

Duns Scotus classified “intrinsic evil” as acts that are inherently evil and accordingly prohibited. But intrinsically evil acts are not evil because they are prohibited.

In Christian theology evil is often seen as a necessary component of God’s plan of salvation. Here one accepts as an article of faith that God permits evil for some greater good, beyond the comprehension of mere mortals (see Isaiah 55:8-9).

A Christian school of thought, begun by Irenaeus and popularized by John Hick, argues that evil is permitted, but not caused, by God. Why, one might ask, would an all-powerful God permit evil? According to the Irenian school, the answer lies in the idea of ‘soul making.’ A soul freely choosing to abstain from evil is of greater value than one that automatically avoids evil like a programmed robot. The free soul apparently better glorifies God than would a sinless automaton.

Although evil may ravage, test and torment good souls living on earth, the true goal of our finite, earthly life is to be made worthy of eternal heavenly life. According to this perspective the evils of the world act as a crucible. Souls not succumbing to but resisting evil are purified and strengthened toward the good. Evil, then, is necessary. It acts as a kind of hammer that pounds out the soul’s impurities.

St. Thomas Aquinas, in keeping with the final winnowing of the Apocalypse (Luke 3:17, Matthew 3:12), writes:

God permits some evils lest the good things should be obstructed.

Another Christian argument, influenced by Plato‘s idea of the Forms, is given by St. Augustine. Augustine sees evil as a privatio boni—the absence of good. According to this view, since God is good, evil must be where God is not present. Therefore God doesn’t create evil. It’s a choice. But the theological debates get complicated here, and some ask whether Augustine’s theodicy holds up for both natural and moral evil.

Different branches of Christianity hold different views about what happens to evil souls in the afterlife. Some Churches damn sinners eternally. Martin Luther, for instance, believed that some souls are predestined for hell. Meanwhile, some contemporary Christians pray for the liberation of souls in hell while others do not.¹ And the Catholic Purgatory is neither heaven nor hell, but a difficult preparation for heaven.

Evil in non-Christian religions

Evil in Islam is similar to that of Christianity. But for Muslims it is evil to suggest that Christ is one with God (John 10:30). And the prohibitions in the Koran differ from those of the New Testament. Notably, killing is permitted in the Koran in some circumstances (see http://www.yoel.info/koranwarpassages.htm and http://www.islamreview.com/articles/jihadholywarversesinthekoran.shtml), whereas the very thought of killing is denounced in the New Testament. Many branches of Christianity do, however, entertain the idea of a Just War.

In Hinduism a different view of evil is presented. Evil is permitted to maintain a proper balance of sacred heat or power (tapas) within the universe. Aspects of Hinduism speak to the reality of hell for evildoers. But evil in Hinduism is mostly viewed in terms of personal ignorance and spiritual development, making hellish punishments temporary instead of eternal.

According to this perspective, the evil soul reincarnates on earth until it is cleansed of the ignorance that influenced it to commit bad deeds. This differs dramatically from the Catholic view that souls in hell are eternally damned and, strangely enough, would never want to leave. Unlike the Christian, the Hindu aspires to transcend apparently relative ideas about good and evil through an experiential knowledge of universal truth.

Accordingly, the goal of Hinduism differs from both Christianity and Islam. For the Hindu, heaven is a halfway house on the road to ultimate realization. The reincarnating soul may enjoy periodic visits to different heavens but, though the round of rebirth, it eventually transcends all heavens and ultimately achieves the greatest good of the Brahman. A similar but in some ways different view of evil is presented in Taoism.

An interesting but often overlooked question is whether Christian, Jewish, Islamic, Buddhist, Taoist and Hindu heavens and hells are identical in character. The celebrated Romanian scholar Mircea Eliade notes that heavens and hells are described differently among world religions. But do they all feel the same? We can’t really know but my guess is NO.

Most cultures around the world at some point in history have seen evil as a cause of mental or physical illness. This view is prevalent in Shamanism. And some religious writers, such as the Catholic, Michael Brown, say they feel the presence of evil almost anywhere.

And on the inferiority of evil as compared to good, W. H. Auden writes in A Certain World:

Good can imagine Evil; but Evil cannot imagine Good.

—

¹ See this excellent discussion: http://forums.catholic.com/showthread.php?t=329730

Related Posts » Determinism, Free-will, Shamanism, Siva, Suffering, Trickster

Related articles

• The freewill defense (St. Augustine of Hippo): Part 1 (thatreligiousstudieswebsite.com)
• One’s Good and the Other is Evil (conservativetickler.wordpress.com)
• Why God Won’t Allow Me to Heaven (ichosethebluepill.wordpress.com)
• A Scene from “Doctor Faustus” (alyssajmammano.wordpress.com)
• Medieval Good (ideasandotherstuff.wordpress.com)
• What is evil? (andrewejenkins.wordpress.com)
• Random Musings: the concept of a ‘just war’ (jmatthanbrown.wordpress.com)
• A reading from the Church Fathers: Love the Sinner Hate the Sin (gingerjar2.wordpress.com)

St. Francis of Assisi

St. Francis of Assisi (circa 1182-1220) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Before becoming known as St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226), Giovanni Francesco di Bernardone was the son of a wealthy Italian cloth merchant, next in line to take over his father’s prosperous business.

In his youth Francis was a popular dilettante, enjoying friends and parties. In keeping with expectations for the young upper-class men of the day, he fought in the army and was taken prisoner. Suffering a serious illness, Francis apparently had some kind of powerful mystical vision.

He returned to his father, telling him he could no longer continue with the family business. Scorned by his father, Francis went to the central square in Assisi where he removed his clothing for all to see, which was his way of renouncing his life of worldly gain. Standing naked, a nearby person threw him a course blanket, which he took to wear. Francis went on to form the friars minor (fratres minores), a monastic order characterized by chastity and extreme poverty, and all of its members wore the same course cloth.

The order grew quickly. By 1219 the Franciscans swelled to over 5,000 members. His former friend and spiritual love, Lady Clare of Assisi, followed suit by likewise renouncing the world. She founded a similar but sequestered order and was eventually canonized.

Stories about St. Francis abound, telling of his love and tenderness toward animals, his writing a canticle to “brother sun, sister moon” and his insistence on complete poverty, which he affectionately personified as “Lady Poverty.” He apparently opened the Bible at random every morning and read a verse to set the tone for his actions throughout the day, believing that God directed him to the right passage. And with Papal permission he unsuccessfully tried to convert the Muslims in the Holy Land, who nonetheless were impressed by his piety.

He also endured a painful medieval eye operation using red-hot irons to remove cataracts. And he is one of the very few mystics said to have miraculously received the stigmata—physical marks of Christ’s crucifixion appearing on one’s own hands and feet.

St. Francis was buried in his native town of Assisi. He remains, perhaps, Catholicism’s most popular saint, probably because his kind of example can be easily understood by rank and file Catholics. However, it’s hard to know if his knowledge of God was a deep as, say, the contemplative St. Faustina Kowalska, who apparently saw Jesus on a near daily basis.

His feast day is October 4.

Related Posts » Divination, Jainism, Levels of Knowledge, Suffering

Related articles

• St. Francis Of Assisi’s Radical Love For Jesus – The Huffington Post (christcenteredteaching.wordpress.com)
• St. Francis of Assisi Prophesies of the Beast (gofishministries.wordpress.com)
• Religious Icons Of The St Francis Of Assisi Church (scenicadelaide.com)
• Francis of Assisi was no Sissy (chrisbrady.typepad.com)
• Reluctant Saint, the life of Francis of Assisi by Donald Spoto (lunaticchick.wordpress.com)
• Watching with Francis (hancockblog.org)
• The Stigmata (paranormala.com)

Homer

Homer was also called Melesigenes (son of Meles) by the name of the brook which flowed by Smyrna. This photo is of a marble terminal bust of Homer. Roman copy of a lost Hellenistic original of the 2nd c. BC. From Baiae, Italy via Wikipedia

Homer is an Ancient Greek poet (Homeros) of uncertain identity.

He or she was believed by the ancient Greeks and Romans to have authored the classic epics of the Odyssey and Illiad around the 8th-7th centuries BCE, the former epic likely predating the latter. Today, most people will tell you that Homer is the outstanding author of the Odyssey and Illiad but, in reality, this authorship isn’t solidly established.

Not unlike the uncertainty concerning the originality and authorship of some of the works of Shakespeare, Homer probably borrowed from existing mythological tales which were transmitted through oral tradition.  And with a particular poetic genius, he or she depicted the enduring characters of the Olympic pantheon.

Contemporary scholars say that the two Homeric classics may have been authored by several persons.

The ancient Greeks saw Homer as an impoverished, blind minstrel. And a contemporary minority view suggests that Homer was a woman. Regardless of the poet’s gender, his or her lasting impact on Western culture is undeniable.

Medieval bards wrote of Troy and neo-classical painters depicted the pursuits of the Homeric gods in all their outrageous splendor and folly.

The 33 Homeric Hymns, likely written after the two epics, are no longer attributed to Homer.

In more recent times, a Homeric strain is arguably discernible in the works of the Canadian poet and musician Leonard Cohen, who took up residence in Greece during his formative years.

Related Posts » Achilles, Aeneas, Aesculapius, Aphrodite, Athena, Blessed Isles, Cyclops, Demeter, Eleusinian Mysteries, Hermes, Hesiod, Myth, Odysseus, Orpheus, Sirens, Troy

Related articles

• Illiad (earthpages.wordpress.com)
• What did Homer do that was important the ancient greek civilization (wiki.answers.com)
• Hermes (earthpages.wordpress.com)
• How are Homer’s ‘The Odyssey’ and L Frank Baum’s ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’ alike (wiki.answers.com)
• Summary of reaction paper of Odyssey (wiki.answers.com)
• Who wrote the Iliad (wiki.answers.com)
• Book Discussion: The Odyssey by Homer (alleganylibrarycollections.wordpress.com)
• Sounds Like Epic Bull to Me … (rogueclassicism.com)
• Ancient Greek punishments: the 8-bit Flashgame edition (boingboing.net)
• 10/7 The Dark Ages and Homer (not Simpson!) (dohertyforwesternciv.wordpress.com)

Homeopathy

Old Homeopathic belladona remedy via Wikipedia

(a) In natural medicine homeopathy is a so-called “alternative” approach to healing based on the belief that illness arises from an imbalance of internal and external elements. The basic premise is that the basic life force, a sort of vital energy, needs to be rebalanced or realigned to restore health.

This is normally achieved by the practitioner assessing the whole patient, and not just the area of illness. From this assessment, what is believed to be the appropriate substance is administered, usually in a highly diluted mixture.

Critics say that the mixture is so highly diluted that whatever original substance was supposed to be administered is not present in the final solution.

Critics also say that, although the odd individual may show signs of improvement, homeopathic medicine does not stand up to scientific scrutiny. Unlike allopathic (i.e. conventional) medicine, there is absolutely no statistical evidence that it works.

Chola Bronze icon. Siva and Parvathi c. 1200 C.E. via Wikipedia

(b) The Indologist Wendy Doniger O’Flaherty uses the term homeopathy in her study of the medieval Hindu myths known as the Puranas.

As as structuralist thinker, O’Flaherty tends to see the vast and baffling repertoire of Hindu myth in terms of binary opposites.

Siva, for instance, regulates the balance of the universe though (seemingly) ungodly activities, such as tempting the Pine Forest Sage’s wives. Siva’s attempt to seduce the sages’ wives breaks the sages’ meditation, the power of which threatens the balance of the cosmos.¹

While they may appear to be quite different, both the alternative medicine and mythological studies definitions of homeopathy point to the notion that problems may be corrected by restoring balance.

—

¹ See Wendy Doniger, Siva: The Erotic Ascetic p. 173.

Related articles

• Can allopathy medicine be used with homeopathy medicine (wiki.answers.com)
• Homeopathy (nicollefrenchblog.com)
• Homeopathy (nearfetching.wordpress.com)
• XKCD Nails It on Homeopathy (skepticalteacher.wordpress.com)
• The disinformation myths against homeopathy (usapartisan.com)
• A “personal case” for homeopathy, part 2 (scienceblogs.com)
• The de-development (velopment?) of Europe: bovine homeopathy (junksciencesidebar.com)
• Real-Life Evidence Homeopathy and Allergies (christineonhomeopathy.wordpress.com)
• Why do you reject Homeopathy? (triangulations.wordpress.com)
• Medicine shmedicine part 1: Homeopathy. (simplexion.net)