In Homeopathy, the concept of “simple substance” is far deeper than the usual scientific understanding of a material substance. To truly grasp this idea, we need to explore it from both a philosophical and Homeopathic perspective.
The Healthy State and Vital Principle
A healthy individual is in a state of harmony between body, mind, and soul. This balance is maintained by an immaterial vital principle, which cannot be seen or weighed like material substances.
As Kent explains in Lecture VIII, questions arise:
“What is the vital force? Is it unique to humans? Do animals or minerals possess it?”
This immaterial principle, though intangible, is the driving force that organizes and sustains life.
Material and Immaterial: Interdependence
The material world—solids, liquids, and gases—is kept in order by the simple substance. From the growth of a child to the movement of stars, everything functions in a planned and orderly manner because of the simple substance.
Kent referred to it as the fourth state of matter, distinct from solid, liquid, and gaseous states (note: he was not referring to plasma).
Qualities of Simple Substance
- Formative Intelligence
- Present in the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms
- Gives every substance its unique identity and pattern
- Ensures cyclic processes like growth, reproduction, and regeneration
- Changeable & Dynamic
- Its activity allows the body to shift between health and sickness
- Can occupy material substances without causing damage
- Control and Energy
- Governs the body it inhabits
- Without simple substance, matter cannot move, think, or act
- Maintains harmony in the universe, keeping everything in order
- Indestructible
- Unlike matter, it cannot be reduced or destroyed
- Exists as simple, compound, or complex
- Combines dynamically with other substances without losing its identity
- Adaptive and Constructive
- Enables living organisms to adapt to the environment
- Maintains continuous construction and reconstruction of the body
- Its absence allows destructive forces to dominate
- Dynamic in Homeopathic Medicine
- The degree of simple substance varies in dynamized remedies (e.g., Silicea 30C, 200C, 1000C)
- Studying simple substances helps understand the nature of disease and potentized medicines
Simple Substance and Hahnemann’s Vital Principle
Kent’s concept of simple substance can be seen as an expanded understanding of Hahnemann’s “Theory of Vital Principle.”
- It is immaterial, intelligent, adaptive, and dynamic
- It organizes the material world and controls health and disease
- Homeopathic medicines, when potentized, aim to interact with the simple substance, restoring balance in the body
The simple substance is the invisible force that keeps the universe, nature, and living beings in order and harmony. Understanding it helps Homeopaths see disease as a disturbance in this vital dynamic and remedies as tools to restore the constructive, organizing energy.
As Kent says:
“All disease causes are simple substances. We study simple substances to understand the nature of the sick-making force. We potentize our medicines to reach the simple substance.”
In essence, the simple substance is the living, intelligent force behind Hahnemann’s vital principle, guiding the practice of Homeopathy and the healing process.