Ayurvedic college education, reifying biomedicine and the need for reflexivity. 2018

Maarten Bode, and Prasan Shankar
a The Department of Anthropology , University of Amsterdam , Amsterdam , Netherlands.

The paper analyses the experiences with government sanctioned Ayurvedic college education of 14 young Ayurvedic doctors working at the Integrative Health Centre in Bangalore, India. Unfamiliarity with Ayurvedic logic and Indian natural philosophies, lack of clinical training and the mixing-up of Ayurvedic and biomedical notions are their main complaints. The 14 young Ayurvedic doctors also missed a convincing perspective on how to integrate Ayurvedic logic, modern scientific knowledge and biomedical diagnostics. Ayurvedic state sanctioned education seems to be caught between Ayurveda's natural philosophy of health and the techno-science of biomedicine. The Ayurvedic doctors under scrutiny face the danger of becoming 'half-baked products' when they do not learn to reflect on the tension between Indian traditional knowledge and biomedical learning. The paper argues that the logic of modern science and biomedicine's claim to value-free knowledge captivates Ayurvedic education and research. This hinders Ayurveda's development as a vibrant alterity to biomedicine. What is needed is a critical social science perspective on the construction of medical knowledge and India's hierarchical medical landscape.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007194 India A country in southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan. The capitol is New Delhi. Republic of India
D008515 Medicine, Ayurvedic The traditional medicine which is based on customs, beliefs, and practices of the Hindu culture. Ayurvedic Medicine,Medicine, Hindu,Siddha Medicine,Hindu Medicine,Medicine, Siddha
D010820 Physicians Individuals licensed to practice medicine. Physician
D004501 Education, Medical Use for general articles concerning medical education. Medical Education
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D060432 Anthropology, Medical Field of social science that is concerned with differences between human groups as related to health status and beliefs. Medical Anthropology

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