What is the difference between the thinking style and characteristics of Chinese and Western medicin

The biggest difference between the thinking of Chinese medicine and Western medicine is that the thinking of Chinese medicine mainly focuses on the overall concept, and Chinese medicine believes that any disease is related to a person as a whole, rather than being limited to a certain part, and the characteristics of Chinese medicine are the overall concept, syndrome differentiation and treatment. Therefore, Chinese medicine emphasizes the treatment of diseases.

The thinking of Western medicine is mainly based on objective evidence, and there is no way to determine what disease it is if it only has symptoms and cannot be supported by the results of relevant tests, let alone **. Therefore, the thinking of Western medicine mainly relies on objective evidence.

Western medicine is a doctor who hurts his head, a doctor who hurts his feet, and if he has a tumor on his body, he will cut the tumor. And where is it long, which is cut. If the stomach grows, the stomach will be cut, and when the intestines are grown, the intestines will be cut.

Traditional Chinese medicine is about seeking the root and asking the source. Dialectical arguments. For example, if something grows, it first cuts off the nutrient source of the thing, and then regulates your body to resist its growth. It's fundamentally it.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) focuses on a holistic view, seeing the human being as a miniature nature, and looking at the human body and diseases in the same way as nature. If you can understand nature well, then you can basically understand Chinese medicine.

In the eyes of Chinese medicine, a patient is just a person with abnormal function, but in the eyes of Western medicine, there is only disease and no patient!

Traditional Chinese medicine eats fish and spits out bones.

Western medicine eats fish and does not spit out bones.

The specific answer can be experienced in the "Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon" and "I Ching".

The four ways of thinking in traditional Chinese medicine are counter-evidence, deductive, analogous, and inductive.

Counter-evidence: flushing, dry throat, heat irritability - like yin deficiency and fire, if the urine is clear and long (the urine is large and the color is clear), the lower limbs are cold, and even the lesion is defined as: the evidence of deficiency and yang floating.

Deductive method: For example, if the patient took a shower the night before, felt cold in the middle of the night, and had pain in his head and body, it can be seen from here that he belongs to the category of external infectious diseases; However, although I was still having a fever yesterday, I was no longer afraid of cold, and I had new symptoms such as thirst and red tongue, which indicated that the symptoms no longer existed, but became the symptoms of heat; Up to now, the patient has obvious cough, wheezing, and yellow phlegm, which means that the disease is located in the lungs, so it is concluded that this syndrome is a syndrome of lung fever.

Analogy: Yin deficiency syndrome - low-grade fever, flushing, hot hands and feet, hot flashes in the afternoon, weight loss, night sweats, dry mouth and throat, upset and insomnia, dizziness and tinnitus, red tongue and less lichen. Yin deficiency can exist at the same time as qi deficiency to form qi and yin deficiency syndrome, and blood deficiency can exist at the same time to form yin and blood deficiency syndrome, and coexisting with yang deficiency is yin and yang deficiency syndrome, and coexistence with essence deficiency, fluid deficiency, dryness, and evil spirits, etc.

Induction: I met a patient before. The patient himself reported that the body was yellow, there was a lump under the right hypochondrium, and there was a feeling of swelling and pain, and from here he basically knew that the disease was in the liver and gallbladder; Through further examination, it was found that the patient also had body heat, bitter mouth, yellow urine, red tongue, yellow moss and other symptoms, from which it can be seen that the patient's illness is hot; It also has symptoms such as thirst and lack of desire to drink, greasy moss, nausea, loose stools, etc., which is the dampness in the body; And because of the gas pain and abdominal distention, this is another manifestation of qi stagnation.

In the minds of our TCM practitioners, dialectical treatment is perhaps the most important way of thinking for us. Syndrome differentiation and treatment is the soul of traditional Chinese medicine, and this speculative process has a very powerful guiding role in our prescription and prescription. Many TCM physicians from professional classes are in.

When learning the basic theories of Chinese medicine, the first noun to memorize may be syndrome differentiation and treatment.

We cannot overstate the principle of dialectical argumentation at a higher level. However, accurate diagnosis is also particularly important when dealing with the patient. Especially in the context of modern evidence-based medicine, let's not reject it.

Traditional Chinese medicine is symptomatic medicine, and the result of syndrome differentiation and treatment may eliminate the symptoms shown by the patient, but this also shows that syndrome differentiation and treatment may cover up the disease. When I read "Thirty Years of Kampo Diagnosis and Treatment", I saw many cases where the symptoms could be eliminated through TCM syndrome differentiation, but in fact, the patient's organic lesions were not resolved.

In clinical diagnosis and treatment, Chinese and Western medicine have their own strengths. Generally speaking, Western medicine emphasizes more on "distinguishing diseases", and all diagnoses and treats diseases, from tissues, systems, organs, cells, and even genes, to investigate their sources, and finally find out where bacteria, viruses, and lesions are hiding.

And take the "targeting" **, go straight to the "Yellow Dragon", eliminate the target point, and eliminate the evil. Traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes more on "syndrome differentiation", where the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, from the season, climate, region, age, gender and even diet and sleep, are all included in the scope of investigation and speculation, and finally locate the viscera and meridians, so as to take comprehensive means such as acupuncture and massage, Chinese medicine internal administration, spiritual comfort, etc., to regulate "qi and blood".

Adjust "yin and yang" in order to achieve "yin and yang" and achieve a new physiological balance. It can be seen that the way of thinking of traditional Chinese and Western medicine is different, the theoretical system is different, and the means are different, so different paths are derived.

For this difference, some people have a metaphor: curing a disease is like treating a fish, when a fish is sick, the first thing that comes to mind in Chinese medicine is that the water may be polluted, and the water must be changed quickly. The first thing that comes to the mind of Western medicine is to treat the fish as soon as possible, find out what is the disease of the fish, what bacteria cause it, and sterilize it as the first priority. Traditional Chinese medicine recognizes diseases, "looks, smells, asks and cuts", very much like "touching fish in the water", the layman can't see where the fish is hidden, but the experienced fisherman can have insight into the fish and catch it with his hands; With the help of high-tech such as CT MR and color ultrasound, Western medicine diagnosis is like "fighting birds in the forest", finding the right target, guiding the use of medicine, and everything is in the clear.

The characteristics of the TCM thinking method include the following aspects:

Dialectical thinking: Traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes the holistic concept and dialectical thinking, that is, the human body is regarded as an organic whole, and when dealing with problems, it pays attention to analyzing the relationship between contradictions and opposites, and achieves balance and harmony through reconciliation and resolution. This method of thinking corresponds to the analytical thinking in Western medicine.

Observation and thinking: Traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes the understanding of the patient's condition and symptoms through observation, listening, interrogation, and consultation, so as to determine the best and distinguish the syndrome. This method of thinking corresponds to experiments and examinations in Western medicine.

Empirical thinking: Traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes the accumulation and development of rich medical experience by relying on experience summary and inheritance, and pays attention to practice and application. This method of thinking corresponds to theories and experiments in Western medicine.

Holistic thinking: TCM emphasizes the interrelationship and interaction between various organs and tissues of the human body, focuses on holistic and systematic, and adopts a holistic view when dealing with problems. This approach of thinking corresponds to the view at the molecular and cellular level in Western medicine.

Natural thinking: Traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes harmony with nature, pays attention to the impact of environmental and ecological factors on human health, and advocates natural health and natural recuperation. This method of thinking corresponds to the teasing view of Western medicine, which emphasizes medicine and surgery.

1. Holistic thinking. Focusing on macroscopic observation is the whole, and its foundation is qi monism. Meta whole, the whole determines the part, and the big determines the small.

Not everyone has a holistic mind, remember the monkey who was happy when he gave 4 bananas in the morning and 3 bananas in the evening? People are the same as monkeys.

2. Associative thinking, for example, if there is a problem with an organ or tissue, you have to enlarge it to which viscera system it is, whether this viscera system is related to other viscera, and put this tissue and viscera in the natural background of the whole heaven and earth, which is often time and space. Constantly going in the macro direction, focusing on creating connections, and constantly looking for a frame of reference.

3. Neutralize thoughts. It is the idea of moderation and balance. Physiology, balance of yin and yang and five elements.

Diagnosis is to check your imbalance, to restore your balance, and to maintain your balance. Western medicine is disease, and Chinese medicine is people. I've made you balance the whole thing, it's hard to have that disease, and even if it does, it's easy to recover.

Logically speaking, this kind of cure is relatively slow to take effect.

4 Analogies are not quite the same as analogies. Analogy is a process of reasoning. But you should note that the analogy derives a probable conclusion.

For example, when talking about traditional Chinese medicine before, you only have an analogy with the color, for example, the color is red, you can only say that he is in the blood and into the heart, but he is in the blood and into the heart, you don't know what to do, but if there is one more sweetness, it may replenish the blood, and if it is spicy, it may invigorate the blood. When viewed together, the directivity becomes more and more distinct.

5 heavy function, light structure. Western medicine pays more attention to the structure of the lesion itself, believing that as long as the lesion is improved, the function will improve. Traditional Chinese medicine is just the opposite, the function has a material background, your function has improved, the material structure may also improve, you see what god fatigue and lack of energy and lazy speech is completely functional state, ** After that, if there is no fatigue of this god, it means that your material sales are also improved.

But after all, the value orientation is different, it is generally believed that traditional Chinese medicine is better at functional diseases, and Western medicine is divided into functional diseases and organic diseases. In fact, traditional Chinese medicine can also treat organic diseases, but Western medicine is the main focus, and it is probably a short hit to compare with Western medicine, and Western medicine has nothing to do with no structural changes and no indicators.

The way of thinking of traditional Chinese medicine is dialectical thinking, while the way of thinking of Western medicine is logical thinking or analytical thinking; These two ways of thinking can be applied to practice under certain conditions, and they can get positive feedback, and they have their own limitations. Dialectical thinking looks at problems from a holistic, connected point of view, and lacks the willingness, ability, and skill to distinguish problems from the overall context, so they cannot make further classifications. I just like to grasp the general direction, and it is difficult to further study the details, which is the influence of thinking habits, and it is easy to see the high hand and the low.

However, the analytical thinking of Western medicine likes to separate things from a whole, and logically analyzes the essential characteristics of things, and lacks the willingness, ability, and skills to analyze problems in a holistic and connected way. As a result, the subdivisions are becoming more and more detailed, and the limited energy is scattered in the infinite parts, which is easy to grasp and enlarge. Therefore, China has always emphasized the integration of traditional Chinese and Western medicine, which is to learn from each other's strengths and play the greatest effect.

The root of image thinking in Chinese medicine is to take images and analogies.

Thinking by analogy is the earliest way of thinking of human beings, and it is also the most fundamental way of thinking. Not only do humans need elephant thinking, but bees also need to use elephant thinking to build nests and animals to forage for food. The so-called elephant not only has the image of the whole, but also has the image of attributes.

There are visible natural phenomena, and there are also the intentions of drawing and integrating the bridge in the human heart (brain).

The Tibetan Elephant Theory of Traditional Chinese Medicine is to grasp the external images through the four diagnoses and predict whether the overall state of the human body is normal. If it is determined that it is in an abnormal state (disease), it is further speculated what the cause is, how it is regulated (i.e., **), and then it becomes normal. The process of diagnosing and treating diseases in traditional Chinese medicine is also the process of changing and transforming the human body.

Of course, the human body is a self-organizing whole, and its regulatory process is much more complex than controlling satellite flights. Sensitive grip.

The deep meaning of analogy in traditional Chinese medicine:

The image grasped by analogy is not an accidental or superficial thing, but a characteristic that emerges from the whole, which is not possessed by its constituent parts. The characteristics of water molecules cannot be explained by two hydrogen atoms in it, nor by one of the oxygen atoms, nor by the combination of their simple additions.

The human body is the same, the characteristics of human life can only be characterized by the whole life, no limb, viscera, organ, tissue, cell can represent the human body, the human body is not a simple combination of these tissues and organs, nor is it their disordered addition. Even if there is a complete living body of a person and a mind without a person, it is still not a complete person, and the wolf children around the world cannot be integrated into social life as proof, so the analogy of Chinese medicine is to regard the human body as a seamless whole**.