Alternative Medicines

<p>Originally published in 1984 and now reissued with a new Preface this was the first systematic and evaluative investigation of the holistic health movement - the first to put its contribution and limitations in both historical and current perspectives. The book answers two essential questions: how do alternative medicines challenge the tenets of conventional scientific medicine; and could a synthesis of these alternative medicines and scientific medicine lead to a reformulation of conceptions of healing? A historical survey of medical care up to the use of scientific medicine in the 19th and 20th Centuries is followed by chapters on different traditions of alternative medicine: homeopathy chiropractic non-medical and spiritual healing oriental medicine and self-care. Each considers the historical roots and development of the particular alternative medicine; describes its principles and how they relate to mainstream medicine. The concluding chapter considers social policy implications and political issues. </p>