Law of Similars

Law of Similars or Law of Similia is one of the most important and building blocks of Homeopathy. It was propounded by Hahnemann while experimenting with Cinchona bark. Cinchona bark was used as a treatment for Malaria as it contained quinine. To see what effect it would have on a healthy individual, he ingested the bark. After ingestion, Hahnemann experienced symptoms similar to the ones of Malaria.

This made him realize that the treatments for diseases must produce symptoms similar to that of the disease, when taken by a healthy individual. This brought into existence the 'Law of Similars'. Also known as 'Similia Similibus Curentur' in Latin, it summarizes the essence the Homeopathy as a science. Thus, it came into being that 'like cures like'. As a result, Hahnemann came to the conclusion that on inducing artificial symptoms of a disease, they will create a disturbance in the vital force, eventually pushing out the old disturbance.

This way the body will recover from the disease, naturally healing from the artificially induced disturbance. This explains that the basic idea is treating the disease with the substance which produces the same symptoms. Thus, Homeopathy cures a person suffering from an illness by giving him a dilute dose of a substance that produces the symptoms, same as the illness being treated in a healthy individual. This is known as the Law of Similars.