Jewish Invention Myths: Homeopathy

Another ‘jewish invention myth’ is the idea that jews invented the alternative medical practice from the eighteenth century called homeopathy, which works on the principle of 'like cures like' or the 'law of similars' - an idea that is also central to folk medicine. (1) I am not a particular fan of homeopathy as a medical discipline, but it is completely factually incorrect to claim jews invented it.

The argument behind it is that the founder of homeopathy Samuel Hahnemann – a doctor from Saxony in Germany – was jewish as ‘MNews’ declares:

‘Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann – Homeopathy

Christian Hahnemann, who lived in the 18th century, created homeopathy, a branch of alternative medicine.’ (2)

The truth is that Samuel Hahnemann wasn’t jewish but rather a German and a Lutheran Protestant his whole life. (3)

His father was Christian Gottfried Hahnemann; a local painter of porcelain in the town of Meissen (which was famous for its porcelain) near Dresden where Samuel Hahnemann was born on 10th April 1755. (4)

There is no evidence at all that Samuel Hahnemann was jewish but the idea may have come about because he was also a child prodigy and spoke multiple languages at an early age including but not limited to Hebrew and someone somewhere just assumed if someone spoke Hebrew then they ‘must’ have been jewish.

But no homeopathy isn’t a jewish invention and nor was Samuel Hahnemann jewish!

References

(1) https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/people/cp95080/samuel-hahnemann

(2) https://mnews.world/en/news/the-great-jews-and-their-inventions

(3) Cf. Robert Jütte, 2005, ‘Samuel Hahnemann: Begründer der Homöopathie’, 1st Edition, DTV: Munich

(4) Ibid.; https://www.homeopathy-gelian.com/en/doctor_Haneman.php

(5) https://www.homeopathy-gelian.com/en/doctor_Haneman.php