Blind Men & Elephants: Attempting to capture TCM in an Enlightenment box

The Western scientific basis of knowledge, formulated during the Enlightenment, is based upon the ability to “prove” the veracity of this knowledge through reductionistic, closed, simple-systems, linear analyses. Thus, by this definition it is arguable that most complex living phenomena cannot then be fully understood or validated through the Western scientific method, as these are, by nature, irreducible, non-linear, and open complex-systems. The practices and theories that fall under the rubric of Chinese medicines are examples of complex understandings of the manifold interactions of humans in their environments. To attempt to reduce Chinese medicines to forms that can be validated through the Western scientific method is akin to the parable of the five blind men who attempt to capture the idea of an elephant by describing its parts. Analysis of the parts of living beings can never approximate the whole. However, complex systems analysis may begin to facilitate a more appropriate means through which to analyse and assess Chinese medicines. This research problematises the current analytical means through which Chinese medicines are being assessed, validated and regulated. This presentation will examine how the Western construction of safety and the hegemony of the biomedical “expert” have combined with the globalisation and commodification of Chinese medicines in Western countries to render the validation and regulation of Chinese medicines necessary. Finally, this presentation will examine how complex systems analyses may be utilised to yield more appropriate examinations of the science of Chinese medicines.