African Educational Research Journal

Vol. 6(3), pp. 197-202, September 2018

DOI: 10.30918/AERJ.63.14.031
ISSN: 2354-2160
Review

Epistemological base of traditional herbal medicine: A

case of Uganda
Disan Kutesa
Makerere University, Uganda.
Accepted 11 April, 2014

ABSTRACT

There is noticeable reversion of traditional approaches in the treatment of physical and psychosocial
ailments. In part this comes because conventional medicines are becoming ineffective and expensive and
there is a feeling that traditional medical approaches are more, this is coupled by the fact that western
medicines are extracted from traditional approaches. The study tried to find out exactly the epistemological
foundation of traditional herbals among traditional experts. The rational under guarding this research was
that traditional approaches are not exactly the same as western approaches and in many instances, the
practitioners are not aware of their methodologies, yet there is no way in post modernism where people can
sustain a practice without a clear understanding of its verisimilitude, hence this study was an investigation of
the epistemological foundation of traditional herbal medicine. The research was conducted in Central,
Western, Northern and Eastern regions of Uganda and principally used document analysis, elite interviews
and focus group discussions. In each of the four regions, five traditional birth attendant, five traditional bone
setters, five traditional herbalists, five Village elders, and two NACOTHA (National council of traditional
healers’ association) officials were purposely selected giving a total of eighty eight participants. Data was
analyzed using emerging themes, cross case analysis and within case analysis were done in order to obtain
the epistemological base of traditional herbal medicine in Uganda. The study concluded that the originative
epistemic medium for African traditional herbals are non-conventional, involving Intuition and Conjectures
and refutations always facilitated by plant communication, however, testimonial, perceptual and memorial
seemings are secondary sources. In addition, their epistemological theory is twofold that is, Malebranche’s
theory and bucket theory of mind. The study recommended that Bayesian epistemology (experimentation
and verification) and Popperian world three of knowledge be introduced in traditional herbal practice.

Keywords: Epistemology, foundation, traditional, medicine, herbalism.

E-mail: [email protected].

INTRODUCTION

Among the major philosophical problems that are of man’s search for knowledge is a perennial task because
supreme importance is Epistemology, the theory of everything people philosophize; depends on knowledge.
knowledge (http://www.slideshare.net/ncjopson/epistemo- When a speculative philosophical mode is employed, a
logy). The search for knowledge is inherent in man, what conclusion can be made that people in all continents
separates man from other animals who are also believed have used indigenous plants for treatment of diseases
to have intelligence is self-reflection which includes since pre-historic times; a case in point is Socrates who
curiosity to discover both the self and that beyond the is believed to have taken herbs and died (http://nd/-
self, this occurs in epistemological paradigm. Generally, Plato/bloch.htm). In addition, medicinal herbs were found
the main concern of Philosophy is the search for the truth in the personal effect of an Iceman whose body was
(Koestler, 1956), implying that it is not modern frozen in the Swiss Alps for more than 5300 years
Philosophy to speak of knowledge in absolute terms, (Castteman, 2001), therefore the utilization of plants as
 Afr Educ Res J 198

therapeutic medicine is an ancient tradition far older than Malebranche’s theory as their epistemic theory. They
the contemporary science of medicine (Mbewo, 2008). asserted that God, gods, spirits, ancestors and
Generally, the introduction of Euro-Christian supernatural forces are responsible for herbal knowledge
philosophical tradition in Africa brought in western acquisition. Many traditional experts sacrifice animals,
scientific paradigm and its consequent disintegrative chicken and some provide alcohol in order to appease
epistemology, this disintegrative tendency of western the gods and spirits to guide them in herbal knowledge
epistemology relegates traditional medicine to a position acquisition process. One traditional expert had this to
of benign dogma (Anyanwa, 1984). However, today in say:
Uganda the trend is going backward to indigenous
medicine; many traditional medical practitioners are “Before my mother died, she spit in my hands and
becoming famous out of their unwritten herbal epistemic gave me power to attend to pregnant women and I
foundation, and documental evidence indicates that 80% always call her name when I am in the field
of African populations today use herbals harvesting herbs”.
(http://curiosity.discovery.corn/questiona/herbal-remedy-
usage). However if critical analysis is carried out there is Another traditional expert reported that when he is
no relative documentation established regarding possessed by the spirit called “Kalondoozi”, he goes to
epistemic theories, and sources of herbal medicine, so the field to pick herbs, “Kalondoozi” is a spirit he inherited
this epistemological inquiry was timely. from his father. In addition, one traditional bone setter
clearly said that traditional bone setting is a family job, it
is hereditary, his father was a famous traditional bone
Statement of the problem setter in western Uganda and he chose him before his
death thus introduced him to bone setting.
Traditional herbal medicine is developed using A herbalist, moreover a priest, reported that God
larmarkinism, deontological justification and dyadic truth created plants for their medicinal use, and he believes
predicate, it is accepted and respected worldwide that administration of medicine is human but healing is
alongside western medicine (Ojango, 1981). Traditional divine, interestingly many herbalists have stalls named
herbals do not go through the rigorous testing and ‘God is able’ implying that God has had a hand in their
experimentation that are normally accorded to western knowledge acquisition. Admittedly, reference to gods,
medicine, therefore all categories of traditional medical spirits and ancestors is assumed to play a significant role
practitioners have organismic and subjective knowledge, in mitigating the harshness of metaphysical dialectics
moreover in the first world of knowledge. Contrary, regarding the axiological stability of society in Uganda.
western medicine is objective knowledge, procedural, The western epistemological theory which can best
adversarial, moreover in the third world of knowledge explain how traditional healers acquire herbal knowledge
according to Popper (1960). is Malebranche’s theory, Malebranche was a catholic
In addition, western machine is discovered by scientific priest who urged that God puts knowledge in the mind of
method and does not progress via a linear accumulation man; whatever you know, you are reading the divine
of new knowledge but undergoes periodic revolutions mind of God.
called paradigm shifts. This method consists of The fallacy of appealing to supernatural in herbal
essentially three districts steps thus, observation, knowledge acquisition is common in African
hypothesis and verification by fresh observation and epistemology, where the subject and object are so fused
experiment (Bacon, 1960). Therefore, western medicine in their existential prediction to correspond to pantheism,
has epistemic privilege with a known explicundum and this is a contemporary mystic. The immediate and
higher verisimilitude than traditional herbals which are mediate experiences of traditional experts is usually
justified by doxastic basically. characterized by a set of contradictions, that is, one and
Thus, the principal question this study addressed was: many, individuality and universality, freedom and
Why is traditional herbal medicine accepted yet its necessity, reason and sentiments, implying that as
epistemological base is not known and documented? The propaedeutic to their ontology, traditional experts adhere
dialectical interplay between the flux of ontological to cosmology which determines their epistemology but
dialectics and the demand for axiological peace for both this is illogical, there should be a simultaneous mutual
traditional herbalism and western medicine perpetuated interaction between the self and the cosmology because
this study. by nature all theories are conjectures and inherently
fallible (Reiser, 1971).
This clearly shows that the current state of traditional
EPISTEMIC THEORY OF TRADITIONAL HERBALS IN herbalism in Uganda is not a rigorous philosophical
UGANDA endeavor, the reference of the transcendental has a
disadvantage, as such epistemology has the inherent
All traditional experts interviewed reported to have used weakness of surrendering easily to the divine wish, the
 Kutesa 199

Table 1. Traditional experts source of knowledge.

Source Percentage (%)

God, gods, spirits, ancestors/Aha effect (Intuition) 52
Parents, relatives, indisputable authority (Testimonial, memorial and perceptual seemings) 41
Plant communication (Conjectures and refutations) 07

ardours task of logically unraveling the complex and and dogmatic approach.
difficult human problem. Undoubtedly, intuitionism is the originative source of
It was however found out that all traditional medical herbal medicine in Uganda. African traditional healers are
experts in Uganda come from families where herbalism is very intuitive, and a point to note is that intuitive
famous, implying that they were born in a “laboratory”, knowledge is associated to past experience. All
grew up in a “laboratory” and acquired herbal knowledge, traditional medical doctors in Uganda come from families
hence what they call knowledge from gods, ancestors where herbalism is famous, so they were born in a
and spirits, is partly their experience (bucket theory of laboratory, grew up in a laboratory and acquired herbal
mind), coupled with their mental advantage or Eureka medical knowledge; hence what they call knowledge from
effect, therefore their epistemic theory is twofold, gods and ancestors is intuitive knowledge
involving Malebranche’s theory and bucket theory of The African context where gods and spirits are
knowledge, bucket theory of mind is the lower level of associated with epistemic acquisition should be
empiricism, a theory responsible for production of demolished in the manner Greeks demolished theirs
western medicine, thus empiricism involves perception (Ashby, 1960). This will usher in scientific culture, a
and observation but bucket theory of mind has only the condition which can effect development and liberate
element of perception, it has a very low verisimilitude, traditional experts from ontological darkness. The first
therefore traditional experts can stumble to truth. step towards the liberation of Ugandan traditional experts
is to acknowledge the current stagnant status of self-
tutelage and the urgency to shake off the fellers of
EPISTEMIC SOURCE OF TRADITIONAL HERBALS IN mythologies, witchcraft, superstition, gods and magical
UGANDA practices
41% of traditional experts reported to have acquired
A total of 88 traditional experts interviewed gave the knowledge from parents, relatives and this is memorial,
following responses in relation to epistemic sources of testimonial and perceptual seeming. This explains why
herbal medicine in Uganda (Table 1). most of them are fake (Wasswa 1996), because as Ayer
52% of traditional experts reported to have acquired (1956) claims, to know empirical objects may be upheld
knowledge from gods, and spirits. Thus gods guide them to reference, to perception, to testimony or historical
when time comes to harvest herbs from the field and its record or to laws but such backing is not always strong
administration to the patients. Many claim to consult enough for knowledge, one may have a poor memory
mountains, rivers, lakes forests; others claim to read hence prescribe herbals with adverse effects. Another
cowrie shells to get herbal knowledge. epistemological puzzle of this epistemic source is how do
It was also found out that many traditional herbalists we tell that a specific herbal knowledge comes from an
demand money from patients; mix money with cowrie expert? Someone can take up knowledge without
shells and spread them on a piece of backcloth, the evidential clue. Most traditional doctors have
healer later on reads and can prescribe herbal medicine accumulated a long track record that can be taken as a
from gods to be administered. A point noted was that sign of reliability but deductively one’s personal
reading of cowrie shells in order to acquire herbal experience does not constitute an evidence base, rich
knowledge cannot be done by a person who is not enough to justify the attribution of reliability to the totality
possessed by the spirits. Admittedly, belief in gods is not of testimonial, perceptual or memorial source. Herbal
typically an African phenomenon, it was in Greece, knowledge acquisition process should be based on
Germany and England during the pre-renaissance scientific revolutions, involving a revision to existing
Europe and when such belief was demolished, scientific belief or practice, where revolutions bring with
development was realized. Such belief in gods as a them an overall increase in puzzle solving power, the
source of knowledge is a worldwide development phase number and significance of the puzzles (Kuhn, 1962).
towards intellectual development. The mythical beliefs in The urge for a continuous assessment and reassessment
gods as source of knowledge is a guarantee of the death of the known or the unknown calls for the participation of
of a free intellectual spirit making the self a prisoner, the subject than testimonial, memorial and perceptual
where gods take over the direction of human faculties to seemings, which sources occupy central position in
nowhere, hence establishing an authoritarian arrogant traditional herbalism.
 Afr Educ Res J 200

However, 7% of traditional experts reported to acquire RECOMMENDATIONS

herbs knowledge from conjectures and refutations
majorly facilitated by plant communication. Sometimes This study as the first of its kind in Uganda in relation to
when animals fall sick, they are monitored, their feeding epistemological foundation of herbal medicine, provides
movement patterns are also monitored, and the grass baseline evidence that herbal medicine is real and
eaten is noted and given to self when he falls sick. This is efficacious (Broughton, 2001), however 93% of traditional
in line with popperian epistemology, that is, knowledge experts have doxa, implying that epistemological
grows through conjectures and refutations (Popper, continuum of traditional herbalism calls for serious
1966), and this is one of the originative epistemic sources negotiation in the exchange of philosophical ideas
of herbals in Uganda. between tradition and modern minds. The following
As mentioned in the foregoing, 7% traditional experts recommendations were made:
reported that they use conjectures and refutations but this
is facilitated by plants, plants communicate physically and 1. Bayesian epistemology: The home truth is that
chemically to people, for example, Sodom apple because traditional herbals are efficacious, plants have active
it produces a sticky substance, it is used in treatment of compounds, plant organs and properties which resemble
wrarts, Sour soup resembles a human heart, it is used in human organs and properties are medicinal but with a
the treatment of heart diseases, bitter leaves because of low curative elements. The self should always look for
sourness they are used to treat malaria and fever, that is, such features in plants and harvest them. Nevertheless,
sourness is associated with medicine, juice of the theory of sense perceptual experience employed by
sawpalmette looks and smells like urine, and it is used to most traditional experts should be modified and introduce
treat urinary problems. Interestingly, there is scientific the element of observation in order to avoid tautology and
evidence that such plants have active compounds; hence put it at the level of empiricism which is the acceptable
they are medicinal (http://www.herbalallus.com/communi- theory in production of Western medicine, this will leave
cating.htm) out doxa and put traditional herbalism in third world of
Admittedly, plant communication is supported by the knowledge (Popper, 1960). Precisely NCRL should
doctrine of signatures, a spiritual system of beliefs which closely monitor all traditional experts.
holds that God puts plants on earth for their medicinal 2. Popperian falsification theory: Popperian epistemology
properties and that people are clued to their actions by should be introduced in traditional herbalism; this
their shapes and other properties (Harris, 1970). involves modifications of the explicundum as well as the
Generally, the originative source of valid herbal explican. The aim is to eliminate doxastic basicality,
medicine is also twofold involving intuition and epistemic luck and subjective episteme in traditional
conjectures and refutations always facilitated by plant epistemology. Emphasis generally should be on potential
communication, but the majority use testimonial, infinity because the past does not mean the future
perceptual and memorial seemings, these are secondary (Figure 2).
sources of herbal knowledge from indisputable As shown in Figure 2, this is the criterion of relative
authorities. (Figure 1). potential satisfactoriness; emphasis for herbal knowledge
acquisition theory should be on Conjectural turn,
Objective turn, Social turn and Metaphysical turn.
CONCLUSION Admittedly, there should be falsifiability, refutability and
testability in herbal knowledge acquisition process, that
Traditional medical practitioners in Uganda are is, error elimination (EE) should be done to eliminate
intellectual explores, intellectual adventures, cognitive epistemic luck in traditional herbalism, theories should be
revisionists whose inner gaze is so clean and persuasive tentative (TT) and this evaluation is critical aimed at
that people follow them, they are the sages of acquiring dependable herbals. Confirming evidence
community, the so called epistemic authorities. Epistemic should not count except when it is the result of a genuine
authorities in the western world are the doctors, test of the theory, all TMPs need to know that they do not
philosophers, historians, scientists and lawyers while in mould or instruct this world by expressing in it, the state
the Eastern world, they are known as the Shamans. In of their mind, nor does it instruct them, they should put
Africa, we have the traditional bone setters, traditional herbal knowledge in the third world of Karl Popper
birth attendants, traditional herbalists; their source of (Popper, 1966).
herbal knowledge is based on intuition and for them they Admittedly, traditional birth attendants, traditional bone
assume that their knowledge is from gods and ancestors setters, traditional herbalists and village elders who use
but admittedly it is the aha effect, eureka effect or intuitive herbs cannot easily be eliminated by the Ugandan
knowledge. This conclusion is in agreement with other government because they are accessible and cheap,
western philosophers like Aristotle and Bergson Henri, they should be taught some basic health science and
who posited that intuition is the originative source of logic to help them in their operations, their role should be
knowledge (Bergson, 1944). to give first aid to patients and refer them to western
 Kutesa 201

Bergson Henri &

Intuition/Conjectures & refutations
Aristotle agreed with this.

Memorial, Testimonial and

Perceptual seemings/oral tradition

Doxa

Bayesian epistemology,
Pragmatic epistemological
Logical empiricism
realism of Jurgan
Harbamas, Edward George
Moore also proposed it.

Popper’s third world of

African herbal medicine/epistemic
knowledge modification and
virtue
documentation (incunabula and
physic gardens) Need potential
infinity

Figure 1. Proposed model of African herbal practice.

Problem (disease) TT EE P2
TT
TTN (No limit to possible theories)

Figure 2. Popperian falsification theory.

doctors, otherwise currently all TMPs lack epistemophilia, In contrast, all traditional experts who believe in gods and
have doxa, putting patients in very risky situations. operate in shrines should be banned from operation,
 Afr Educ Res J 202

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