Medicine and philosophy - Classical Homeopathy Online

282 Late antiquityhotly debated question of the presence, or absence, of pharmacological‘experiments’ in Galen’s works or – as I would rather put it – on Galen’stheory of experimentation, namely his ideas on the requirements for a correctuse of, and sufficiently specific search for, the relevant empirical data –indeed, for a correct identification of the relevant empirical data. Secondly,the concept of ‘qualified experience’ is of interest for an assessment of theoriginality of Galen’s position, in particular with respect to the medicalsect to which his pharmacological work is probably most indebted, theEmpiricists. For, on the one hand, Galen uses the notion to articulate hisown refined and sophisticated use of experience as against its allegedly unqualifiedapplication by the Empiricists; 10 on the other hand, as we shallsee, he clearly distinguishes it from ‘rational’ methods of discovery as well,such as ‘indication’ () on the basis of the ‘essence’ () orthe‘nature’ () of the substance, various other forms of inferential thinking( , etc.) as well as his ownsystematic ‘method’ () of treatment as expounded in On the Methodof Healing. This raises the question of to what extent the concept representsa successful attempt at combining reason and experience. Finally, theconcept raises some fascinating problems about the philosophical conceptualisationof what seems to be a rather straightforward commonsensicalidea, namely that a foodstuff or drug does not produce the same effect inall cases (which had been recognised by Greek dietetic writers from theHippocratic author of On Ancient Medicine onwards), or to be more precise– and perhaps less commonsensical – that one and the same substancemay act either as a foodstuff () orasadrug() orevenasa poison () depending on the manner and the circumstancesunder which it is applied.2 galen on diorismosGalen’s notion of ‘qualified experience’ should not be confused with hismore straightforward, much more frequently expressed belief that something– a statement or claim, an issue, idea or notion – may be in needof qualification by means of experience. Thus in De simpl. med. fac. 2.7(11.483 K.), in an obvious lash at the Empiricists, he says that the question10 See De alim. facult. 1.1.4 (CMG v4, 2, p.202.23–5 Helmreich, 6.455 K.); De meth. med. 3.3 (10.181K.); cf. De comp. med. sec. loc. 1.7 (12.469 K.): ‘This is what Archigenes has written, making histeaching not only empirical but also without qualification’ (