Acupuncture in Intercultural Hermeneutics

Name Institutional Affiliation Course Code/Title Instructor Date Asian Behavior and Thought: Acupuncture in Intercultural Hermeneutics Introduction While there is a general hypothesis that globalization of medical practice always has its origin from the Western culture, the Chinese acupuncture practice has proved it wrong. People living in the West have embraced the concept of acupuncture and investigated its benefits and relevance in modern medicine. However, since the Western medicine is still framed within the context of epistemological germ theory, the main issue revolves around finding a way that such a disparate tradition of acupuncture can be integrated into the existing theories of Western medicine. The exemplification of intercultural hermeneutics of acupuncture starts with Kuhn’s theory of scientific revolutions and the theory is part of the modern practice in science (Clair et al 171). In order to understand acupuncture practice as an Asian thought, it is critical to relate the germ theory, which is archetypical to modern medicine with the Chinese medical practice of acupuncture. In addition, the incommensurability between these two thoughts within the context of globalization of Asian medical practice is critical. Therefore, instead of rejecting such practices in modern medical practice, modern medicine has accepted and incorporated them into a new concept known as medical acupuncture. This model has become concomitant with the western scientific research tenets. It is important to reflect on how the theory and methodology of Western medical practice with the features of acupuncture for providing a guide to the clinical practice of acupuncture, scientific research, and health policy (Liang et al 601). Meanwhile, acupuncture continues to be accepted in various medical practices such as the treatment of epilepsy (Chao & Xia 129). Epilepsy is characterized by unprovoked and recurrent seizures resulting from excessive, abnormal and synchronous brain activities. In modern practice, acupuncture has been considered as the most efficient and safe treatment with minimal side effects. This paper explores intercultural hermeneutics within the context of globalization that has necessitated acceptance of multicultural acceptance in modern medical practices. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has gained much scholarly and popular attention in recent past. However, there is little effort to examine how people perceive TCM as a health care system and its implicit assumptions about its importance in treatment for ailments and health (Ho 411). As an old empirical medical practice, acupuncture has particularly a profound theoretical basis and extensive applications in medicine (Liang et al 601). However, with the explosion of evidence-based practice (EBP), there have been serious challenges in the practice of acupuncture especially in the Western cultures. One of these challenges include the hurdle to translate the massive sources of evidence into an optional treatment schematic in medical practice. In...