The Vital Force Model

The Vital Force Model in Homeopathy

In the descriptions of the Organon §§ 9-17 (Hahnemann, 2017, after the 6th edition by R. Haehl 1921) Hahnemann outlines a teleological concept of regulative self-control (insert link: see autoregulation). The summary of the statements in this Organon passage emphasises several aspects from an epistemological perspective, which Hahnemann formulates as theses:

§9	The control of life processes is organised in an autoregulatory way, whereby all life processes serve a reason-oriented, higher purpose of existence.
§10	Without autoregulation neither life nor disease is possible.
§11	Disease always develops on the basis of disturbed regulation, which is shown by the symptoms that arise. The symptoms are therefore the perceptible (with the senses) characteristics of the disturbed regulation.
§12	If symptoms are the sole expression of the disturbed regulation, restored health can be assumed if remission occurs and normal regulation resumes.
§13	Disease is therefore not a separate, internally existing material entity separate from the organism and its functions.
§14	Disease can only be recognised phenomenologically on the basis of findings and the occurrence of symptoms.
§15	The living organism and its autoregulation form an inseparable whole, which is why the disturbed regulation and its symptoms are also a unit, even if this is conceptually separated for better understanding.
§16	The reactions of autoregulatory processes are influenced by external factors (stressors). They are dependent on the contextual and environmental conditions with which they interact (homeodynamics). Medicines work in a similar way and can therefore be recognised symptomatically in their effect, their observable influence on the psycho-neuro-immunological regulation. The medicinal healing effect is therefore based solely on the observable ability to trigger re-tuning processes
§17	The ideal of healing, the complete disappearance of all symptoms and signs of the disease, is based on a reorganisation of autoregulation. If this is achieved through successful treatment, health is restored. This is the highest goal of all medical action.

This seemingly radical reformulation of the Organon paragraphs may at first glance baffle traditional ideas. However, Hahnemann's theses are quite compatible with the principle of autoregulation, the concept of the self-regulating principle of living organisms to react to external and internal stimuli. Hahnemann's formulations and terms are therefore not to be understood literally, but are explained according to their meaning, through their epochal classification.

The Historical Concept of Vital Force its significance

The concept of vital force (German: Lebenskraft) appeared in scientific and philosophical treatises in the second half of the 18th century and gained popularity at the turn of the 19th century.

...It was based on the realisation that the then prevailing machine theory of the organic and the known physical and chemical laws were not sufficient to explain organic phenomena such as ...reproduction, regeneration, self-movement and self-control. The formulation of a force effect that ...can be traced back to the as yet unknown physical laws of non-living nature... is based more on the interest in considering organic life as part of the natural sciences and making it the object of experimentally orientated research that uncovers causal relationships. This is why they differ from Stahl's metaphysics of the soul... The scientific orientation of the doctrines of life force is partly due to the fact that most of their representatives were doctors and therefore interested in the practical application of the knowledge gained... It is also no coincidence that the term biology to describe the doctrine of life, as distinct from chemistry and physics, first appeared at this time, as the need for a separate concept of force reserved only for organic nature was felt... The complex of these doctrines could be described as a gap paradigm, because they ...did not prevail with the further development of the sciences... but from the perspective of the history of the philosophy of science they had the function... of filling the gap that was left behind when it was recognised that the categories of the prevailing paradigm were not sufficient, ...but the explanatory patterns of the late 19th and 20th centuries were not yet . and 20th century were not yet available... (Ritter & Gründer, 1980, p. 123 ff.)[1]

Like many scientific thinkers of his time, Hahnemann was aware of the auxiliary construction of the term vital force. He therefore used the term without further definition and often synonymously with "life principle or also vitalising inner dynamis, autocracy" (Hahnemann, 2017, §9) in order to describe, at the height of the state of knowledge of his time, that life processes were not purely physical chemical reactions or spiritual mental processes.

Against this background, it seems sensible to rethink and reformulate the interrelationships of the Organon theses from the perspective of autoregulatory processes, which builds a stable bridge to current findings in the theory of science.

[1] This is an abridged and linguistic summary by the author from the dictionary by Ritter & Gründer, 1980, p. 123 ff.

Sources and References

Hahnemann, S. (2017). Organon der Heilkunst (6th edition). Hahnemann Institut für homöopathische Dokumentation. https://archive.org/details/organon-der-heilkunst
Ritter, J., & Gründer, K. (Ed.). (1980). Historisches Wörterbuch der Philosophie: vol. 5: L-Mn. Schwabe.

Authors: glt | Rev.: gbh, mnr, sfm, smi | Ed.: pz | Last modified May 25, 2025