![]() ![]() Until the last two decades of the twentieth century, Western herbalism maintained its own conceptions and methods of research. These two thoughts the threat of external take over and elimination of holistic professions, and the suggestion that holistic medicine increase its standing through conducting its own research have led to the publication of the present paper. Here the suggestion was made that complementary and alternative disciplines should engage in research to establish the reputation of their own professions (Haynes, 1999). A more conciliatory attitude in found in prominent British biomedical journals. This corresponds to past experience in America, where holistic professions have been frequently persecuted and banned (Milton, 1996). Prominent American medical journals have suggested that CAM be investigated using conventional biomedical methods alone and that holistic professions be ignored and eliminated (Angell and Kassirer, 1998 DeAngelis and Fontanerosa, 2003). Response to government initiatives within the biomedical field has been diverse. Scientific research into the phenomenon was recommended (United Kingdom House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology, 2000 United States Department of Health and Human Services, 2002). Wood, professor emeritus of educational psychology, University of Minnesota, for his contributions regarding research, Midge Whitelegg, Ph.D., F.N.I.M.H., Department of Nursing, University of Central Lancashire, who provided several important articles and helpful comments, and Clair Teegarden, of Minnetonka, Minnesota, who provided assistance with Internet research.Įxtensive public use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) (Eisenberg, Davis, Ettner, Appel, Wilkey, Van Rompay, and Kessler, 1998), sometimes also called holistic medicine, led to an examination of the movement by governments in Britain and America. (liberal studies), University of Minnesota, for her assistance in reading and criticizing the manuscript, Robert Schmidt, of Project Hindsight, in Cumberland, Maryland, a professional Greek translator and scholar of Greek science, for his insights in Greek science and ‘archealogical science,’ Frank H. The author gratefully acknowledges the help of Clara NiiSka, MSc. Clinical Trials and Herbal MedicineĨ.6.1. Of special interest is the unlooked for conclusion that ‘case series’ study should be developed to provide research that can benefit Western herbalism and improve its scientific foundation.Ĩ.1.3. ![]() It suggests that a ‘confluence’ of results from different approaches may produce more certainty in herbal knowledge than strict adherence to a single or few methods. It also suggests that visionary and intuitive methods can improve the holistic element in Western herbalism. The paper concludes that established methods of research in herbalism, biomedical models for research, and visionary and intuitive approaches can all contribute to a healthy herbal science. This includes visionary and intuitive methods that have not included in conventional scientific work. ![]() Towards this end the author examines questions of science, paradigms, holism, biomedicine, research, and knowledge-gathering in traditional herbalism and biomedical research design. Instead, Western herbalism, to be a scientific field in its own right, needs to develop its own conceptual foundation and from this its own methods of research. In this paper the author proposes that biomedical research methods are not the only appropriate method for the study of herbalism. Biomedicine has proposed a strict interpretation of herbal research, in which the experience, tradition, and conceptual framework of Western herbalism is substantially ignored in favor of the biomedical ‘gold standards:’ double blind clinical trials and pharmacological studies. Western herbalism the practice of herbal medicine in modern, English-speaking areas is in a period of change, when many new and old concepts are in competition for recognition. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |