Medical Pluralism

Due to its founding history, the IGM has a special focus on the history of homeopathy. The interaction of different therapeutic approaches was also a major concern of the founder Robert Bosch. He was also interested in the history of the various methods, which is why he acquired the collection on the history of homeopathy from the physician Richard Haehl and had plans to establish a Paracelsus Museum. The Paracelsus Library intended for this purpose is now part of the research library. On this basis, the IGM has consistently expanded the history of homeopathy into a history of medical pluralism. The history of complementary healing methods is embedded in the overall context of medicine. Findings from this research also contribute to a more objective debate. It becomes apparent that processes in medicine must be viewed in a differentiated manner and are also subject to change, which has a fundamental impact on questions of how illness and health are dealt with. The dialogue between approaches that are classified as complementary medicine and the respective medicine of the time plays a major role in this.