George Vithoulkas

George Vithoulkas (born Athens 1932)^[1] is a teacher and practitioner of homeopathy.^[2]

He studied homeopathy in South Africa and received a diploma in homeopathy from the Indian Institute of Homeopathy in 1966. Upon receiving his diploma, he returned to Greece where he practiced and began teaching classical homeopathy to medical doctors at what eventually became the Center of Homeopathic Medicine in Athens. In 1972, Vithoulkas started a Greek homeopathic journal, Homeopathic Medicine. In 1976, he organized the first of an annual series of International Homeopathic Seminars. In 1994, he opened the International Academy for Classical Homeopathy on Alonissos, which provides post-graduate training for homeopaths.^[3]

Vithoulkas has authored a number of books on homeopathy, two of which, Homeopathy: Medicine of the New Man (Arco, New York, 1979) and The Science of Homeopathy (Grove Press, New York, 1980) have been translated extensively, and is currently writing Materia Medica Viva, a homeopathic materia medica or reference work on homeopathic remedies, to reach 16 volumes when finished. In addition to his books, he has published numerous articles in homeopathic journals and has developed an expert system for homeopaths to use in choosing remedies for their patients.^[4]

Vithoulkas was a recipient of the Right Livelihood Award in 1996.^[1][5]

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Views

Vithoulkas asserts that the paradigm of conventional medicine has been disastrous for the health of mankind, having failed to prevent or cure disease, and that the excessive use of powerful chemical drugs is responsible for a worldwide degeneration of health. In his view conventional treatments for serious diseases lead to a reduced quality of life rather than longer life. He contends that this is due to medical researchers ignoring the "eternal truths" that underlie the "true principles of medicine and health", and foretells a spiritual crisis if this is not changed.^[6]

He believes that "conventional medicine, instead of curing diseases, is actually the cause of the degeneration of the human race."^[7] He blames modern medicine, vaccinations, and antibiotics for mental disorders including various neurosis, hay fever, asthma, cancer and AIDS, claiming that "immune systems of the western population, through strong chemical drugs and repeated vaccinations, have broken down and finally admitted the diseases deeper and deeper into the human organism, to the central and peripheral nervous system."^[7] He does not believe modern medicine extends lives, saying that "In the past, old people were getting illnesses and getting ready to die; but then they were given antibiotics, and they would go into a state of Alzheimer's and after that they would live very long... They are included in the figures for average life expectancy, but they are not alive."^[8] He believes standard care will make homeopathic treatment "more difficult."

Vithoulkas believes that conventional modern medicine will soon be recognised as a dead end, and that it should be taken apart and restructured according to the guidance of homeopaths.^[8]

Praise and criticism

According to Vithoulkas's citation from the the Right Livelihood award, his books "have had a profound influence upon the acceptance and practice of homeopathy worldwide."^[1]

He has been described as "the maestro of classical homeopathy" by Robin Shohet;^[9] Lyle Morgan says he is "widely considered to be the greatest living homeopathic theorist";^[10] and Scott Shannon calls him a "contemporary master of homeopathy."^[11] Paul Ekins credited Vithoulkas with the revival of the credibility of homeopathy.^[12]

His biography has been published in the book Georgos Vithoulkas Der Meister-Homöopath Biographie und Fälle by the journalist Peter Clotten and the homeopath Susan Pfeifer who studied at his International Academy for Classical Homeopathy.^[13]

In 1978, Anthony Campbell, then a consultant physician at The Royal London Homeopathic Hospital,^[14][15] reviewed The Science of Homoeopathy. He criticised Vithoulkas for substituting assertion for hard evidence and constructing an almost meaningless argument on the basis of a dubious theory of disease. He described rhetoric put forward by Vithoulkas (in presenting the argument that "allopathic drugging" is harmful and must be avoided) as including a thoroughly irresponsible statement which could mislead an unfortunate layman into refusing orthodox treatment, mentioning Vithoulkas' claim, "in the course of an argument designed to show that 'allopathic drugging' is harmful and must be avoided", that syphilis, when treated with antibiotics, would have the early stages suppressed, but would go on to the secondary and tertiary stages. However, he felt the book also provided a good, if dogmatic, description of the principles and practice of "classical" homoeopathy.^[16] In response, Vithoulkas quoted various medical studies he claimed supported his assertion that penicillin "may suppress primary syphilis while failing to prevent the insidious development of a tertiary stage, especially as manifested in psychosis."^[17] This claim conflicts with other scientific studies, which indicate that penicillin treatment produces a compete cure of syphilis in more than 90% of cases.^[18]

Selected works

• Homeopathy: Medicine of the New Man Arco, New York, 1979
• The Science of Homeopathy; Grove Press New York, 1980
• A New Model for Health and Disease, North Atlantic Books 1992
• Homeopathy Medicine for the New Millennium IACH, 2000
• Materia Medica Viva (11 volumes completed to date, 16 planned) IACH, 2000-

References

See also

• Roger Morrison
• Quackery