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> She (the psychologist) didn't mean the Worseley approach to

> acupuncture, but more in the sense that it isn't a proven medicine

> and more a kind of a 'superstitious' phenomenon.

>

> The holy reverence I was refering to is the general attitude of the

> general public to the medical establishment. Many MD's keep a large

> distance between themselves and the general public. Even the MD's

> with the somewhat less glorious positions (company doctors, doctors

> employed by insurance companies) feel quite superior, because they

> studied medicine.

 

May I remind you of the priest of science who has compassionately

agreed to walk alongside us on our stony path, i.e. Emmanuel, who

wrote the other day:

 

Again there is a " belief " in the scientific method. I'm going to

state here emphatically that this is fundamentally a religious

question ... not spiritual ... ethnically religious.

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The problem may indeed be how CAM is presenting itself, instead of

being 'suppressed' by WM. But I feel there isn't a level playing

field and CAM has to overcome a strong bias, and that is not caused

by CAM.

>>>>A level playing field will only come when CM education will be on par with

the excepted medical education by others. Actually we will need more because we

must have a good CM as well as biomed education. When we can show that we can

play the game at the same level, in terms of the local society rules in which we

play, we will see a much more level playing field. We also have to remember that

even in eastern countries CM is not anywhere close the level of respect that

biomed enjoys. Like it or not we are at an age where research and science rules

and will rule for the forcible future.

Alon

 

 

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Even though this is a typo, Alon, sometimes your typos reveal

underlying truths. Will the future be 'forced' on us? I think that is

more up to us than the prevailing powers-that-be.

 

 

On Oct 30, 2003, at 11:16 AM, Alon Marcus wrote:

 

>>>>> Like it or not we are at an age where research and science rules

>>>>> and will rule for the forcible future.

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> >>>>A level playing field will only come when CM education will be

on par with the excepted medical education by others. Actually we will

need more because we must have a good CM as well as biomed education.

When we can show that we can play the game at the same level, in terms

of the local society rules in which we play, we will see a much more

level playing field. We also have to remember that even in eastern

countries CM is not anywhere close the level of respect that biomed

enjoys. Like it or not we are at an age where research and science

rules and will rule for the forcible future.

> Alon

 

 

Alon,

I also think that we should question the assumption that science

unequivocably has the social value that you ascribe to it. There's the

dialectical opposite - people are afraid of science, wary of it,

mistrustful. That's one of the important points Unschuld makes in

accounting for its popularity in the modern West.

 

Political/power/commercial considerations are significant, but surely

we should be concerned to do what we feel is right? I get the feeling

that you personally feel that science has a lot to offer CM.

 

The view contrary to this is that there is a value in the CM tradition

that relates to

its aspects that are not 'scientific' in the narrow, modern sense, and

that the process of validation by science will jeopardise that

tradition.

 

In any case, there are plenty of doctors who I think are

quite eager to submit at least acupuncture (possibly not CHM) to

scientific

appraisal, and no doubt, they'll build up a bigger and bigger 'knowledge

base' that has the full stamp of scientific approval. We'll have every

right

to practice according to that methodology - at least in the UK, we will.

There may even be some more traditional CM that gets scientific

certification.

 

Best wishes,

Wainwright

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Do you currently teach your students, at least

inform them, that no such opportunity awaits?

>>>I know of schools that tell the students and prospective students that they

can make 6 figure out of school

alon

 

 

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I think you've hit the nail on the head with this one, Ken. I am one

for unearthing these 'gems' and sharing them with students, and not

only are they practical medical suggestions, they are also highly

inspirational. For me, they are the crux of teaching and studying the

subject of Chinese medicine.

 

How can we start researching what we've barely uncovered?

 

There's a lot of 'data mining' to be done first.

 

 

On Oct 30, 2003, at 3:21 PM, kenrose2008 wrote:

 

>

> I think there is a whole universe full of

> enormously useful data in the archives of

> traditional medical lore. What a bitter

> shame that it is not being made available

> to students who reach out for it, by name

> at least, when they enroll in training

> programs.

>

> We now start to have a more comprehensive

> understanding of the process by which the

> current efforts in the PRC to develop

> and market TCM have supplanted various

> aspects and dimensions of the traditional

> lore with a highly Westernized/scientized

> approach.

>

> We must develop the same kind of understanding

> of how our own adaptations and acculturations

> of the subject have further displaced the

> enormous diversity and richness of the

> various medical traditions with a relatively

> small set of highly idiosyncratic views of

> the subject.

>

>

> Ken

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, Ken Rose

> > I think there is a whole universe full of

> > enormously useful data in the archives of

> > traditional medical lore. What a bitter

> > shame that it is not being made available

> > to students who reach out for it, by name

> > at least, when they enroll in training

> > programs.

 

First of all, I don't doubt that there is a buried treasure of

literature still untranslated. In fact, that's why I taught myself

some Chinese in order to be able to read what other herbal and

acupuncture formulas were available; and have several hundred

Chinese books on my selves. But if, as you say, student

are " reaching out " for this material why haven't they bought the

books available?

 

 

> > We now start to have a more comprehensive

> > understanding of the process by which the

> > current efforts in the PRC to develop

> > and market TCM have supplanted various

> > aspects and dimensions of the traditional

> > lore with a highly Westernized/scientized

> > approach.

 

Why does the PRC with full access to CM literature turn to science

as its first response, ignoring traditional medicine in a crisis?

 

For example, the CM response to the SARS crisis was only anecdotal;

the flurry of activity turned out to be the same story repeated in

all the Western publications. If we're only 6 degrees from Kevin

Bacon, why havn't more details about the CM response to SARS been

reported by Western practitioners in China? What preparations are CM

practitioners implementing for the immanent SARS return?

 

 

> > We must develop the same kind of understanding

> > of how our own adaptations and acculturations

> > of the subject have further displaced the

> > enormous diversity and richness of the

> > various medical traditions with a relatively

> > small set of highly idiosyncratic views of

> > the subject. >>>

 

How could our culture adapt to the enormous diversity of 2500 years

of CM literature in less than 30? Why do you see it as a personal

failure of the early writers instead of an inherent historical

problem of the novelty of the material and the growth cycle of a new

subject matter in a completely different culture?

 

 

Jim Ramholz

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At 10:44 AM +0000 10/31/03, James Ramholz wrote:

> > > We must develop the same kind of understanding

>> > of how our own adaptations and acculturations

>> > of the subject have further displaced the

>> > enormous diversity and richness of the

>> > various medical traditions with a relatively

>> > small set of highly idiosyncratic views of

>> > the subject. >>>

>

>How could our culture adapt to the enormous diversity of 2500 years

>of CM literature in less than 30? Why do you see it as a personal

>failure of the early writers instead of an inherent historical

>problem of the novelty of the material and the growth cycle of a new

>subject matter in a completely different culture?

--

Ken,

 

In addition to James's questions, which I agree with, when I look at

say, Formulas & Strategies, I see a rich diversity of ideas

represented by formulas by many different authors based on different

ideas during different eras. In addition to the commentaries in F &

S, there are translations of original texts that explore some of

these ideas in greater depth. Beyond F & S there is an even wider

diversity in the available literature, even in English.

 

When it comes to 'adaptations and acculturations of the subject',

ours is obviously different from the current Chinese experience, and

from the experience of practitioners who were part of 'enormous

diversity and richness of the various medical traditions'. But

consider the experience of any one of those practitioners. Would not

most of them as individuals have been trained in a single tradition,

a single 'highly idiosyncratic view of the subject'. The richness of

the tradition is made up of many hundreds, thousands, or millions of

highly idiosyncratic practitioners, not millions of practitioners

with hugely diverse views of the subject. Could we not say that our

current 'small set' is no less diverse than that of most

practitioners in enormous diversity?

 

Understanding our adaptations and acculturations is probably a good

thing, but are you saying that we, as non-Chinese, should feel more

compelled to explore these issues that the Chinese themselves have

ever done?

 

Rory

--

 

 

 

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> For example, the CM response to the SARS crisis was only anecdotal;

> the flurry of activity turned out to be the same story repeated in

> all the Western publications. If we're only 6 degrees from Kevin

> Bacon, why havn't more details about the CM response to SARS been

> reported by Western practitioners in China? What preparations are CM

> practitioners implementing for the immanent SARS return?

 

Jim,

 

In my experience, your characterization is incorrect. The recent

Chinese medical journals from the PRC are full of articles by numerous

different practitioners on SARS. Some issues of some journals have

been almost dedicated to this single issue.

 

Bob

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, " Bob Flaws " wrote:

> In my experience, your characterization is incorrect. The recent

> Chinese medical journals from the PRC are full of articles by

numerous different practitioners on SARS. Some issues of some

journals have been almost dedicated to this single issue. >>>

 

Bob:

 

Can you survey some of them before the next outbreak here so we can

possibly see if there are successful theories, cases, and protocols?

 

 

Jim Ramholz

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, " Bob Flaws " wrote:

> Jim,

>

> In my experience, your characterization is incorrect. The recent

> Chinese medical journals from the PRC are full of articles by

numerous different practitioners on SARS. Some issues of some

journals have been almost dedicated to this single issue.>>>

 

 

Bob:

 

I was thinking about only locally and in English. But you are

correct in thinking globally.

 

Wouldn't it be an irony if SARS is treated effectively in the US by

CM and receives notariety for it?

 

 

Jim Ramholz

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For example, the CM response to the SARS crisis was only anecdotal;

the flurry of activity turned out to be the same story repeated in

all the Western publications. If we're only 6 degrees from Kevin

Bacon, why havn't more details about the CM response to SARS been

reported by Western practitioners in China? What preparations are CM

practitioners implementing for the immanent SARS return?

>>>>>In Taiwan the response is by far mostly WM. While many people also took

herbs for prevention and companies made products to burn (ie " sterilize the

air " ) the response is really in the hands of WM.

Alon

 

 

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> > Mr. Bob Damone teaches that thick, sticky difficult to

expectorate

> WHITE

> > phlegm is still heat-phlegm. Phlegm need not be yellow for heat

to

> be

> > involved. On the other hand, cold phlegm is always loose and

> watery, clear or

> > white, never either yellow or sticky. Many students had not

heard

> this which

> > Mr. Damone says is very evident in all his reading on the subject

> in chinese

> > texts.

 

 

To elaborate on this topic, I just translated a case study and the

patient had chonic bronchitis and pulmonary emphasema with WHITE GLUE

like phlegm. Here are the herbs : Ban xia 9, hou po 4.5,

fu ling 12, su zi 9, laifuzi9, tinglizi9, ma huáng4.5, xing ren 9,

gan cao 4.5. You decide on the Dx....

 

-

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I think this may be reasonable for orthopedics, but in a straight TCM

class it makes no sense to leave qi out of the discussion.

>>>I disagree if you make one always state all the criteria for one's statements

than less mistakes in communication and increased rigor is the result

alon

 

 

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To elaborate on this topic, I just translated a case study and the

patient had chonic bronchitis and pulmonary emphasema with WHITE GLUE

like phlegm. Here are the herbs : Ban xia 9, hou po 4.5,

fu ling 12, su zi 9, laifuzi9, tinglizi9, ma huáng4.5, xing ren 9,

gan cao 4.5. You decide on the Dx....

>>>>>Jason it could also be green and still used similar Rx depending on other

symptoms signs

alon

 

 

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That would be true if you had a clear equivalent for qi. That doesn't

exist in English.

 

Imagine a class discussion with defense qi, construction qi, or source

qi. What are you going to use instead?

 

 

 

On Nov 2, 2003, at 8:26 PM, Alon Marcus wrote:

 

>>> I disagree if you make one always state all the criteria for one's

>>> statements than less mistakes in communication and increased rigor

>>> is the result

alon

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, " Alon Marcus " wrote:

> Jim I think AAOM meeting is in las Vegas next year. We should

probably have about 9 patients to get some numbers. Who else do you

think should participate >>>

 

 

 

alon:

 

Leon Hammer or one of the practitioners from the Shen lineage are

the only major players that I can think of offhand; but I'm sure

there may be others.

 

 

Jim Ramholz

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, " James Ramholz "

<jramholz> wrote:

> , " Alon Marcus " wrote:

> > Jim I think AAOM meeting is in las Vegas next year. We should

> probably have about 9 patients to get some numbers. Who else do

you

> think should participate >>>

>

>

>

> alon:

>

> Leon Hammer or one of the practitioners from the Shen lineage are

> the only major players that I can think of offhand; but I'm sure

> there may be others. >>>

 

 

Some further thoughts:

If we do the patients blind, each practitioner will need an hour per

patient. We should also have a half day set up so that attendees can

learn some of the major features of each pulse system and practice

treatments using it themselves. Then, at the end, a panel to discuss

why some features are found in common and why there are differences.

 

 

Jim Ramholz

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Imagine a class discussion with defense qi, construction qi, or source

qi. What are you going to use instead?

>>>The definitions of course. One would have to state exactly what one means

with defense qi at a particular point. Defense qi can mean too many things and

then become vague\

alon

 

 

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Leon Hammer or one of the practitioners from the Shen lineage are

the only major players that I can think of offhand; but I'm sure

there may be others.

>>>I thinks Flaws teaches pulse taking as well. Will can let us know about

Leon's practitioners

alon

 

 

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Some further thoughts:

If we do the patients blind, each practitioner will need an hour per

patient. We should also have a half day set up so that attendees can

learn some of the major features of each pulse system and practice

treatments using it themselves. Then, at the end, a panel to discuss

why some features are found in common and why there are differences.

>>>>I would hope we can get at least 1/2 day or may be a full day on this from

AAOM

Alon

 

 

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True, but the idea is that one would been hard pressed not to use 'qi'

when discussing these concepts. Neither would these concepts be

'vague' if one used the term 'qi'. In fact, the meanings would be

obscured without 'qi'.

 

 

On Nov 3, 2003, at 7:07 AM, Alon Marcus wrote:

 

> Imagine a class discussion with defense qi, construction qi, or source

> qi. What are you going to use instead?

>>>> The definitions of course. One would have to state exactly what one

>>>> means with defense qi at a particular point. Defense qi can mean

>>>> too many things and then become vague\

> alon

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-

" " <zrosenbe

 

Monday, November 03, 2003 3:38 PM

Re: Re: More " the Web "

 

 

> True, but the idea is that one would been hard pressed not to use 'qi'

> when discussing these concepts. Neither would these concepts be

> 'vague' if one used the term 'qi'. In fact, the meanings would be

> obscured without 'qi'.

>

>

> On Nov 3, 2003, at 7:07 AM, Alon Marcus wrote:

>

> > Imagine a class discussion with defense qi, construction qi, or

source

> > qi. What are you going to use instead?

> >>>> The definitions of course. One would have to state exactly what

one

> >>>> means with defense qi at a particular point. Defense qi can mean

> >>>> too many things and then become vague\

> > alon

 

 

May I remind people of the difficulty in defining any word in detail,

for example 'force', 'space', 'time' etc. in physics. Given that there

words have different meanings in different theories in physics, such

as Einstein's and Newton's theories of gravitation, would we ask

physicists to refrain from using these terms, and instead request an

entire discourse on what is meant by each term each time it is used?

 

Of course not. Disciplines are practical in nature, and terms are a

shorthand for a much more complex web of ideas. And why should things

be different for CM?

 

 

 

Wainwright

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Z'ev,

 

First of all, as far as modern texts go, Jiao is an exception. Most modern

texts are not well footnoted (many of these footnotes are added by the

translators). I was referring quite specifically to textbooks used in the

schools. As I believe you know, there is a standard set of textbooks used

by almost every school of CM with very little variance from this. Syllabi

are not generally distributed, but when they are, they certainly do not

look like the ones that we have with several texts, required, recommended

etc. First year students are coming right out of a very structured high

school curriculum and entering into a very structured college

curriculum. Yes, these standard textbooks are peppered with quotations

from the classics, but most students do not actually go out and read them

until later. As a comparison, the Diagnosis textbook used by college of CM

in China is about 1/3 the length of Deng. So, do I think that we have a

better quality/variety? I certainly think that we a variety - some quite

divergent from those used in China, other (like Fundamentals) much

closer. But the mere fact that we can refer students to texts like Web,

BH & E, Larre & Rochat, and that we do make those referrals makes our

education very very different from what is occuring in China. Remember

also that our students are CHOOSING to be in colleges of CM (whether they

regret it afterwards or not) while in China there is much less choice

involved.

 

Marnae

 

At 01:29 PM 11/2/2003 -0800, you wrote:

>Marnae,

> This is an interesting and provocative response, in that I've never

>heard that we have a better quality and variety of English language

>textbooks than Chinese textbooks. While critical skills may be

>developed in our patients (perhaps a cultural phenomena; Ken or Jason

>Robertson, how are Chinese students' critical skills in their

>classrooms?), from what I've seen of the Chinese textbooks, it is an

>easy matter to reference other texts, such as classical sources

>compared to our situation in the West. This is what I like so much

>about books like Jiao Shu-de's " Ten Lectures on Medicinals " . Every new

>term is footnoted, and concepts are explained.

>

>

>On Nov 2, 2003, at 12:57 PM, Marnae Ergil wrote:

>

> > Ken -

> >

> > As Julie pointed out, the Web is not a primary text for her class, it

> > is

> > not an " authoritative sole required source " . I have to say that I

> > believe

> > that the kind of literature that our students get exposed to by their

> > teachers, on syllabi handed out in class, far exceeds the literature

> > that

> > student of CM in China are exposed to. Given the fairly standard

> > curriculum set of 32 textbooks that is used throughout China I think

> > that

> > the variety of things that we expose our students to, even if some of

> > it is

> > " wrong " or has errors, leads to a better thinking process and a better

> > ability to critique texts than the more formalized, standardized system

> > used in China.

> >

> > Marnae

> >

> > At 03:10 PM 11/2/2003 +0000, you wrote:

> >>

> >>

> >>> Except that the web is no standard at all. can anyone on this

> >> list who teaches

> >>> at an accredited TCM school tell me if this book is used as an

> >> authoritative sole

> >>> required source in any class. I think the answer is no. This

> >> book has no

> >>> influence at all on current academic curriculum at TCM

> >> colleges. Whether as

> >>> Bob Felt suggests it wields influence at PBS and Harvard is a

> >> question I cannot

> >>> answer. The source that wields true influence is Giovanni M.'s

> >> work as well as

> >>> Bensky.

> >>

> >> I don't disagree with your relative

> >> valuation of these three authors.

> >> But I think you overstate the situation

> >> when you say that Web has no influence

> >> on current academic curriculum.

> >>

> >> Julie Chambers says reads the

> >> book four times a year and uses it

> >> as a basic text in her basic theory

> >> course. Basic theory matters, and initial

> >> impressions are often devilishly hard

> >> to ferret out.

> >>

> >> I would be very interested in finding out

> >> precisely how extensive the influence of

> >> all these authors remains. I suspect that

> >> with the advent of more comprehensive

> >> materials, not to mention the slow but

> >> steady development of a cohort of individuals

> >> who do have access to the bulk of the

> >> available literature, the influence of most

> >> of the early writers will continue to diminish.

> >>

> >> How do you think we could actually determine

> >> such a thing?

> >>

> >> Ken

> >>

> >>

> >>

> >> Chinese Herbal Medicine, a voluntary organization of licensed

> >> healthcare

> >> practitioners, matriculated students and postgraduate academics

> >> specializing in Chinese Herbal Medicine, provides a variety of

> >> professional services, including board approved online continuing

> >> education.

> >>

> >>

> >>

> >>

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