Claudia, Can you help please with a rhetorical question. I remember from a seminar presented by Anne Schadde (notable for her Ozone proving) that she made a point about the German translation of Aphorism 6.
My copy starts with Der vorurtheillose Beobachter which I know to mean The unprejudiced observer.
The point she made was the words in German aren't actually translatable into English. What Hahnemann really meant was that, we have prejudices and we must put them aside. Which is a lot different to saying we must have no prejudices at all.
I know it may sound like I'm splitting hairs here. But I would like to settle a debate in this house and have a quiet evening meal.
(OK I want to win...)



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Chris Gillen
Member AHA (Australia)

Chris Gillen, you are my hero.

I hope you do win.

Divina

Hi Chris,
Instead of translating word by word, which is always a tedious endeavor, I'll give you the explanation on how I understand Aphorism 6 to be from the "Organon der Heilkunst" 6th edition worked on and published by Josef M. Schmidt.

Hahnemann emphasises that it is pointless to do guesswork as to what caused the illness or other things pertaining to the illness which are not seen with one's senses (5 or more I cannot say), i.e. the changes in the vital force.
He says that the unprejudiced observer, even if he is the most shrewd of observers has to perceive objectively ONLY those symptoms which represent a change in the body and soul (mental and emotional I presume). Those symptoms which pertain to the sick state alone and not those which pertain to the healthy state, are taken into account. The symptoms that are felt by the patient, seen by those close to him and those observed by the practitioner. Those perceivable symptoms ALONE represent the illness in its totality and show the ONLY thinkable picture of the illness.

The way Hahnemann speaks is instead of saying: "you have to be like this or that..." directly, he goes on to describe how the IDEAL practitioner (situation etc.) would be in his eyes. He is very strict and clear about what it should be in the best possible way.

He actually does not say that we must not have prejudices really, but he says that the ideal practitioner will have come to terms with prejudices in that he has acknowledged the futility to have them. In real life this means that one has to know oneself very accurately to be this unprejudiced. The way I understand it, when I read No. 6 over and over is that the practitioner has to know EXACTLY what is his and what belongs to the patient in order to clearly note the symptoms and be unprejudiced. - I do agree with Chris, Hahnemann means that there are prejudices normally, but they must be put aside.

I have written this without checking the English translation (on purpose) so that I give the 1:1 interpretation from the German in my own words. It is true that between Hahnemann's lines there is a lot of information, rather a sense of what he was like and what he really meant. Even though my mother tongue is German, it is not the same German that I grew up with, you all know of the difference from "auld English" to nowaday English - it is the same with the German.

Chris, I hope this helps and I invite others (maybe other German speakers ?) to comment too.

Claudia

Hi,
It came to my mind that if you are interested in the Organon and in studying it both in English and German, you could check the yahoo-group Hahnemaniacs, they are now finishing the 5th aphorism.
The info of the group here below:

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I do agree what is said sofar and find the Schmidt edition helpful.
Hahnemann basically sais, that if you take an unprejudiced look, you will come to the same observations and deductions as he himself did. Unprejudiced means: not tunnelvision, preoccupied, biased, rush. Observer is someone who does not partake in the scenario, not interfere with the situation, a viewer,listener, a bystander.
Cheers, Hans

Thanks Claudia and all for your input. So in a nutshell, it means the more insight you have into your own intentions and motivations, the more able you are to discern and perceive what it is in a case that needs to be treated.
I especially liked your comments, Claudia, about recognizing the futility of having prejudices. That being the ideal.
With good reason, that made me belly-laugh. Oh the joy of being right!! But in the next breath I feel nervous...

chrisg

Hi Chris,
OK, breathe in ... and become really nervous now. I go on to say that not only one's own intentions and motivations are to be known, but also one's own stuff, behavioral patterns and garbage that is
IMO it is of utmost importance for a true healer in any system to know him/herself very well. Projections are happening even then, but at least the case taker is aware of what is his/hers and what belongs to the patient ! I dare say that prejudice in Hahnemann's terminology is not only the intended prejudice, but also the unintended ! (i.e. projections)
To know yourself well, soul searching and continuous personal growth is needed - the work is never done ! - even if you're right at one time or another
Claudia

Hi Chris and Claudia
I have to say that I agree with all your observations.
I have been looking into counselling skills over the past few days and they have a nice term "congruent" which is all about being able to be yourself when you are with a client/patient. I thought it ties together the idea of being the unprejudiced observer and the need for self knowledge and growth. I don't think its possible to be really open with a patient unless you have some degree of confidence in knowing where your own prejudices lie and indeed where your own vulnerabilities are, even if we haven't overcome or dealt with these issues (and no-one can ever deal with all of them.)
Thanks for some interesting thoughts
Dave