Department of Kriya Sharir, Faculty of Ayurveda, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi - 221 005, Uttar Pradesh, INDIA.
Indian J Med Ethics. 2023 Jan-Mar;VIII(1):61-64. doi: 10.20529/IJME.2022.049.
In this essay, I narrate my experiences of teaching Ayurveda physiology through an approach that involved laborious re-interpretation of ancient literature using the recent advances in the field of medical physiology. Though this approach made the ancient concepts and theories appear modern and relevant, it did not contribute much except for apparently reducing cognitive dissonance among students. I cite examples describing the processes of formation of shukra (semen) and rakta (blood) to show how we often overinterpret Ayurveda concepts to make them sound rational by proposing ad hoc conjectures. I illustrate why my previous writings were faulty by applying the falsification principle proposed by Karl Popper. I further explain how this approach made these concepts only verifiable but not refutable, and hence, non-falsifiable. I argue that instead of using such re-interpretation to prove obsolete concepts, they can be dropped altogether from the curricula of Ayurveda programmes. There is a need to develop a reliable method to identify such outdated content.
在这篇文章中，我叙述了我通过一种方法教授阿育吠陀生理学的经验，这种方法涉及使用医学生理学领域的最新进展对古代文献进行艰苦的重新解释。虽然这种方法使古代的概念和理论看起来现代而相关，但除了明显减少学生之间的认知失调外，并没有太大的作用。我引用了描述精液和血液形成过程的例子来说明我们如何经常过度解释阿育吠陀的概念，通过提出特设的假设使它们听起来合理。我通过应用卡尔·波普尔提出的证伪原则来说明为什么我之前的著作是有缺陷的。我进一步解释了为什么这种方法使这些概念只能被验证而不能被反驳，因此，不能被证伪。我认为，与其使用这种重新解释来证明过时的概念，不如完全从阿育吠陀课程中删除这些概念。有必要开发一种可靠的方法来识别这种过时的内容。
