A heterodox model of healing

Area of Science:

• Philosophy of Medicine
• Medical Anthropology
• Sociology of Health

Background:

• Western healing constructs often reflect a philosophical dualism between material substance and thought/spirit.
• Understanding this dualism is key to analyzing diverse healing practices.
• Ethnographic research provides insights into the construction of healing paradigms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a heterodox model of healing based on Western philosophical dualism.
• To develop an explanatory paradigm model and a health practice model to represent healing activities.
• To illustrate how American cultural values influence the positioning of healing modalities.

Main Methods:

• Derived an explanatory paradigm model from ethnographic work with healers.
• Developed a health practice model based on the explanatory paradigm.
• Analyzed the positioning of healing modalities from orthodox biomedical to metaphysical/alternative.

Main Results:

• A two-axis model (positivism-metaphysics, material-spiritual) was created to represent healing paradigms and activities.
• The health practice model demonstrates the cultural positioning of various healing modalities in the US.
• Biomedicine is placed within the same philosophical context as other healing approaches for comparison.

Conclusions:

• The proposed model offers a framework for understanding diverse healing practices within a philosophical context.
• It highlights the cultural embedding of healing modalities and their perceived positions.
• The model has implications for future research and practice in integrative health and medicine.