This book review is reprinted from The Homoeopath with permission from Nick Churchill of The Society of Homoeopaths.
A New Model Of Health And Disease
Reviewed by Mike Strange
Mike Strange MSc, RSHom practises at tile Lavender Hill Homoeopathic Centre in South London where he has a large number of patients with HIV and AIDS.
This book is a major contribution to the philosophy and science of medicine, written by one of this century's greatest exponents of the art and science of healing. In it, George Vithoulkas attempts the mammoth task of sorting out the almost total mess into which established medicine has led humanity with regard to the nature of health and disease, and so the appropriate approaches to therapeutics. He sets out his objectives as firstly, showing what has gone wrong, secondly, presenting his new model in terms of the observed natural laws, and thirdly, pointing out what currently available therapeutic modalities would offer the optimum results. The aim is to stimulate thought, research and discussion, and Vithoulkas does not claim that this book is the last word. The style is highly polemic, driven by the author's vision of approaching disaster for the human race. It comes over as a damning critique of allopathic medicine and of the materialist, antispiritual way of life of the developed countries, but he constantly urges doctors, scientists etc. of integrity, to rethink the course of their research and to help to develop appropriate methods of therapy.
The Introduction is a concentrated barrage of statistics which shows that in essence the great development of allopathic medicine has produced no benefits in terms of reduced morbidity, or of increased longevity or quality of life. People who have less access to allopathic medicine than in the West seem to have done as well as we have, or in many cases, a lot better. Indiscriminate use of antibiotics and other strong drugs can be shown to have given rise to new conditions which are much more devastating and more difficult to manage than the diseases that went before. His conclusion at this stage is that researchers have been asking the wrong questions, initiated by the pharmaceutical industry's priorities rather than by genuine considerations of health. This section, and all subsequent chapters are well supported by an extensive bibliography.
The central thesis is that a human (and other life forms of course) is an energy complex and not just a mechanical being, This concept,familiar to all classical homoeopaths, is developed along lines which will also be familiar to all modern students of homoeopathy who have studied Vithoulkas' The Science of Homoeopathy. The three planes (mental/spiritual, emotional/psychic, physical/material) depicted as three concentric cones are described in terms of their hierarchy and interrelationship, which leads on to the definition of health on each plane, summarised as 'the degree to which an individual is free to create'. (Rendering this in non-sexist terms reminded me that one aspect of this book which many British readers will find distracting is the entirely male-oriented language - but try not to be distracted!). As a logical outcome of this pattern of human energy, Vithoulkas emphasises that in order to build health we must look to the building of the spiritual and emotional life of people as well as the physical, instead of the current practice which concentrates almost exclusively on the material and technical aspects of education and achievement.
A very moral tone pervades the book - it rings true to me but might make problems for some of our allopathic colleagues to whom it could be seen as a digression. Other everyday homoeopathic concepts such as predisposition and susceptibility, and what they mean in terms of the manifestation of underlying imbalances of the Vital Force are covered and related to the idea of the 'immune system', and to why changes in a person's overall level of health mean corresponding changes in susceptibility to different pathological agents. The idea that certain pathogens can consistently arise endogenously by mutation from non-pathogenic organisms within a person in response to negative stimuli is one that will raise certain eyebrows, but Vithoulkas manages to make it a plausible possibility. He then goes on to use the example of the advent of AIDS as an illustration of how this Model of Health and Disease hangs together, In brief, excessive allopathic drugging and vaccination have ruined the internal ecology of people already weakened by sexually transmitted diseases, poor diet and other adverse aspects of their lifestyle, and has made them susceptible to the endogenous mutation of a newly virulent organism, HIV, which is now being spread among a receptive population worldwide by sex, blood transfer etc. A few details are a bit weak, but the theory as a whole is persuasive and will find support from many prominent 'AIDS rebels' who are rejecting the simplistic and exclusive HIV=AIDS=Death paradigm and are looking for something that fits the observed facts better. Vithoulkas warns that AIDS will not be the last or the most deadly disease to appear if we continue to undermine the Vital Force by means of crude and inappropriate medicine, Allopathic medicine has won many battles, but it is clearly losing the war, and the answer must lie elsewhere - most probably in homoeopathy and the other holistic therapies, as well as in a major revision of our lifestyle and life's goals.
This book deserves to be read and studied widely by all health professionals and I urge you to get a copy. Study it carefully and test the arguments in discussion. If you have friends in allopathic medicine, persuade them to read it, and try to discuss the concepts with them. I hope that the Society of Homoeopaths might be able to sponsor one or more inter-disciplinary seminars to give interested allopaths and others a chance to work out new ways of tackling the declining health of our species.
The Homoeopath Vol.12 No.3 1992