Abstract
In this entry, traditional medicine is understood and treated as systems of medicine or healthcare distinct from the global paradigm of scientific medicine, as they have evolved and exist in the various human cultures of the world. Such systems are closely connected with the adaptation of various human groups to their physical environment or ecological niche and the social organization that makes their day-to-day living possible and meaningful. These healthcare or medical systems might be given various appellations from various points of view or perspectives, but they are basically aimed at and result from the basic need of human beings to maintain health, guess and diagnose the causes of illness, treat illness, and prevent its occurrence. Scientific medicine, because of its alliance with technology and commerce, its global push, and globalizing effects, stands as a gigantic rival to all such traditional systems with which, willy-nilly, they have to deal.
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Muzur, A., & Sass, H.-M. (2012). Fritz Jahr and the foundations of global bioethics: The future of integrative bioethics. Zurich/Berlin: LIT Verlag.
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Tangwa, G.B. (2015). Traditional Medicine. In: ten Have, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Global Bioethics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05544-2_421-1
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