In §4 of the Organon of Medicine, Samuel Hahnemann expands the role of the physician beyond merely treating disease. He writes:
“He is likewise a preserver of health if he knows the things that derange health and cause disease, and how to remove them from persons in health.”
This aphorism beautifully completes the thought introduced in §1. While the physician’s highest mission is to cure the sick, he must also prevent disease in the healthy. Thus, the true physician is both a healer and a guardian of health.
1. The Dual Role of the Physician
According to Hahnemann, a physician’s duty does not begin only after disease appears. His responsibility starts even earlier — in maintaining health.
A physician must:
- Understand the causes that disturb health
- Recognize factors that predispose individuals to disease
- Remove those causes before disease manifests
This shows that homeopathy is not merely a system of treatment; it is also a system of preventive medicine.
2. What “Deranges Health”?
Health, in homeopathic philosophy, is the harmonious functioning of the vital force. When this harmony is disturbed, disease begins.
The things that derange health may include:
1. Physical Causes
- Poor diet and unhealthy eating habits
- Lack of exercise
- Overexertion or exhaustion
- Exposure to harmful environmental factors
2. Emotional & Mental Causes
- Grief
- Fear
- Anxiety
- Prolonged stress
- Domestic unhappiness
Hahnemann himself emphasized that emotional disturbances can deeply affect health.
3. Maintaining & Exciting Causes
Certain habits or conditions continuously maintain disease:
- Addictions (alcohol, tobacco, narcotics)
- Sedentary lifestyle
- Faulty hygiene
- Suppressive treatments
A true physician must identify and remove these obstacles before prescribing medicine.
3. Prevention Is Superior to Cure
This aphorism highlights a very modern concept: Prevention is better than cure.
If a physician can:
- Correct lifestyle errors
- Advise proper diet
- Remove environmental triggers
- Provide mental and emotional guidance
then disease may never develop.
In this way, the physician acts as a teacher, guide, and counselor, not just a prescriber of remedies.
4. Practical Application in Homeopathic Practice
In day-to-day practice, §4 reminds the physician to:
- Investigate maintaining causes during case-taking
- Advise suitable diet and regimen
- Remove obstacles to cure before prescribing
- Educate patients about healthy living
For example:
- Advising ORS in diarrhea
- Recommending rest in acute fevers
- Suggesting exercise in chronic musculoskeletal complaints
- Removing stressors that aggravate disease
Without removing these deranging factors, even the best-selected remedy may fail.
Aphorism §4 teaches us that medicine is not merely about curing illness — it is about preserving health. A true physician must understand the causes that disturb the vital harmony and remove them before disease manifests.
Healing is noble.
But preventing suffering is even nobler.
That is the deeper message of §4 — the physician must be both a curer of disease and a guardian of health.