Philosophic perspective: A comparative study of traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine

Abstract

This paper at first makes a comparative study of the two different paradigms of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Western medicine. The author holds that there are four essential differences between the two paradigms: the theory of Yin and Yang as well as five phases vs. modern natural science, experienced "black box" vs. objective anatomy, overall synthesis vs. concrete analysis, and "thought experiment" vs. scientific experiment. Next, from a dynamic view of theoretic development, the author deeply discusses TCM's defensive method, which influenced upon its evolution. This paper concludes that TCM will go on enlightening modern medicine with its traditional experiences and thinking methods; yet as a research programme which lacks evolutionary capacity, it will meet more challenges of Western medicine.