Alternative Healing free essay sample

Anthropological study of Western, Native Amer., Chinese views, practices biases related to medicine, health illness, mind-body relationship, role of patient and herbalism. Alternative Healing: An Anthropological Analysis To understand the cultural context of an illness is to be better prepared to treat it. Anthropological approaches to healing highlight what various cultures both prize and abhor. When a culture is appraised for how it handles its sick, the diseased and dying, what is uncovered are the cultures foundational values. The recent surge of interest in alternative healing in the west appears as a direct response to the continued insufficiencies of traditional medicine. Studying how other cultures have categorized and treated their ill provides a framework for understanding how healing functions in an anthropological manner. What this comparative analysis of healing situated in diverse cultures will highlight is that individuals are most likely to regain their health according to..