James Tyler Kent
Encyclopedia
James Tyler Kent, MD was an American
physician
best remembered as a forefather of the modern homeopathy
movement. In 1897 Kent published a massive guidebook on human ailments and their associated homeopathic remedies which has been translated into a number of languages and remains in use by adherents of homeopathy today.
, the son of Steven Kent and his wife Caroline Tyler. Kent was raised as a staunch Baptist
.
Kent attended secondary school at the Franklin Academy of Prattsburgh, New York
before enrolling at Madison University (today's Colgate University
), from which he graduated with a Bachelor's degree
in 1868. He earned a Masters degree from the same institution in 1870.
Kent attended the Institute of Eclectic Medicine at Cincinnati, Ohio
, where in addition to traditional allopathic medicine
he studied naturopathy, homeopathy
, and chiropracty. Kent graduated from the Institute in 1873.
, where he took up medical practice. He took a post as a professor of anatomy
at American College in St. Louis two years later.
It was at this time that he became a fervent adherent of the precepts of homeopathy
, a branch of alternative medicine that treats patients through the administration of "remedies" containing massively diluted forms of substances that, if given to a healthy person undiluted would cause symptoms similar to the disease. It is believed by homeopaths that the introduction of such "similars" into the body effectively stimulates it to defeat the ailment or disease.
In 1881, Kent accepted a position as professor of anatomy at the Homeopathic College of Missouri, an institution with which he remained affiliated until 1888.
In 1890, Kent moved to Pennsylvania
to take a position as Dean of Professors at the Post-Graduate Homeopathic Medical School of Philadelphia. He remained in that position until 1899.
In 1897 Kent published his magnum opus, Repertory of the Homœopathic Materia Medica. This guidebook to ailments and their associated "similars" remains the repertory on which much of the modern practice of homeopathy is based.
Kent edited the Journal of Homeopathics from 1897 to 1903, producing seven volumes of the journal.
Kent moved to Chicago
in 1903, where he taught at Hahnemann Medical College. Kent remained at that post until his departure in 1909 to become professor and Dean of Hering Medical College and Hospital, an institution also located in Chicago.
In November 1910, Kent was instrumental in the establishment of the Society of Homeopathicians as a means of disseminating the principles of homeopathy promulgated by Hahnemann. The group published its own journal, The Homeopathician.
Kent wrote voluminously and his works were published into several non-English languages during the course of his life. He gained a significant number of adherents in India
, a country in which several publishers of his work of the late 20th and early 21st Centuries are located.
Kent is remembered for his arguments against the conventional germ theory of infectious disease
:
As a follower of a mystical
Christian religious sect headed by Emanuel Swedenborg
, Kent believed that illness had spiritual
causes:
on June 6, 1916, in Stevensville, Montana
. He was 67 years old at the time of his death.
Not long after his death, Kent was eulogized
by one contemporary as
British scholar of homeopathy Francis Treuherz has characterized James Tyler Kent as "the ultimate homeopath of the period when homeopathy flourished in America." Treuherz has noted Kent's pioneering use of extremely high dilutions (called "high potencies" by adherents of homeopathy) and "meticulous scholarship in the creation of his repertory" as among Kent's primary attributes as the homeopathic exemplar of his generation.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
best remembered as a forefather of the modern homeopathy
Homeopathy
Homeopathy is a form of alternative medicine in which practitioners claim to treat patients using highly diluted preparations that are believed to cause healthy people to exhibit symptoms that are similar to those exhibited by the patient...
movement. In 1897 Kent published a massive guidebook on human ailments and their associated homeopathic remedies which has been translated into a number of languages and remains in use by adherents of homeopathy today.
Early years
James Tyler Kent was born on March 31, 1849 in Woodhull, New YorkWoodhull, New York
Woodhull is a town in Steuben County, New York, United States. The population was 1,524 at the 2000 census.The Town of Woodhull is in the south part of the county, west of Corning, NY.- History :The first settlers arrived around 1804...
, the son of Steven Kent and his wife Caroline Tyler. Kent was raised as a staunch Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
.
Kent attended secondary school at the Franklin Academy of Prattsburgh, New York
Prattsburgh, New York
Prattsburgh is a town in Steuben County, New York, United States. The population was 2,064 at the 2000 census.The Town of Prattsburgh is in the northeast part of the county, north of Bath, New York.- History :...
before enrolling at Madison University (today's Colgate University
Colgate University
Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York, USA. The school was founded in 1819 as a Baptist seminary and later became non-denominational. It is named for the Colgate family who greatly contributed to the university's endowment in the 19th century.Colgate has 52...
), from which he graduated with a Bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in 1868. He earned a Masters degree from the same institution in 1870.
Kent attended the Institute of Eclectic Medicine at Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
, where in addition to traditional allopathic medicine
Allopathic medicine
Allopathic medicine refers to the practice of conventional medicine that uses pharmacologically active agents or physical interventions to treat or suppress symptoms or pathophysiologic processes of diseases or conditions. It was coined by Samuel Hahnemann , a homeopath, in 1810...
he studied naturopathy, homeopathy
Homeopathy
Homeopathy is a form of alternative medicine in which practitioners claim to treat patients using highly diluted preparations that are believed to cause healthy people to exhibit symptoms that are similar to those exhibited by the patient...
, and chiropracty. Kent graduated from the Institute in 1873.
Career
In 1874, Kent married and settled in St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, where he took up medical practice. He took a post as a professor of anatomy
Anatomy
Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...
at American College in St. Louis two years later.
It was at this time that he became a fervent adherent of the precepts of homeopathy
Homeopathy
Homeopathy is a form of alternative medicine in which practitioners claim to treat patients using highly diluted preparations that are believed to cause healthy people to exhibit symptoms that are similar to those exhibited by the patient...
, a branch of alternative medicine that treats patients through the administration of "remedies" containing massively diluted forms of substances that, if given to a healthy person undiluted would cause symptoms similar to the disease. It is believed by homeopaths that the introduction of such "similars" into the body effectively stimulates it to defeat the ailment or disease.
In 1881, Kent accepted a position as professor of anatomy at the Homeopathic College of Missouri, an institution with which he remained affiliated until 1888.
In 1890, Kent moved to Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
to take a position as Dean of Professors at the Post-Graduate Homeopathic Medical School of Philadelphia. He remained in that position until 1899.
In 1897 Kent published his magnum opus, Repertory of the Homœopathic Materia Medica. This guidebook to ailments and their associated "similars" remains the repertory on which much of the modern practice of homeopathy is based.
Kent edited the Journal of Homeopathics from 1897 to 1903, producing seven volumes of the journal.
Kent moved to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
in 1903, where he taught at Hahnemann Medical College. Kent remained at that post until his departure in 1909 to become professor and Dean of Hering Medical College and Hospital, an institution also located in Chicago.
In November 1910, Kent was instrumental in the establishment of the Society of Homeopathicians as a means of disseminating the principles of homeopathy promulgated by Hahnemann. The group published its own journal, The Homeopathician.
Kent wrote voluminously and his works were published into several non-English languages during the course of his life. He gained a significant number of adherents in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, a country in which several publishers of his work of the late 20th and early 21st Centuries are located.
Ideas
Infectious disease
Infectious diseases, also known as communicable diseases, contagious diseases or transmissible diseases comprise clinically evident illness resulting from the infection, presence and growth of pathogenic biological agents in an individual host organism...
:
As a follower of a mystical
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
Christian religious sect headed by Emanuel Swedenborg
Emanuel Swedenborg
was a Swedish scientist, philosopher, and theologian. He has been termed a Christian mystic by some sources, including the Encyclopædia Britannica online version, and the Encyclopedia of Religion , which starts its article with the description that he was a "Swedish scientist and mystic." Others...
, Kent believed that illness had spiritual
Spirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...
causes:
Death and legacy
Kent died of Bright's diseaseBright's disease
Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that would be described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. The term is no longer used, as diseases are now classified according to their more fully understood causes....
on June 6, 1916, in Stevensville, Montana
Stevensville, Montana
Stevensville is a town in Ravalli County, Montana, United States. The population was 1,553 at the 2000 census.-History:Stevensville is officially recognized as the first permanent settlement in the state of Montana...
. He was 67 years old at the time of his death.
Not long after his death, Kent was eulogized
Eulogy
A eulogy is a speech or writing in praise of a person or thing, especially one recently deceased or retired. Eulogies may be given as part of funeral services. However, some denominations either discourage or do not permit eulogies at services to maintain respect for traditions...
by one contemporary as
"Genial, gentle, devoted friend to his patients and pupils; jealous guardian of pure Homeopathy against the criticisms of those whom he considered his enemies; sensitive, embittered, retiring man in later years as he thought one after another did him wrong...; most of his patients and pupils were devoted to him and he basked in the sunshine of that devotion."
British scholar of homeopathy Francis Treuherz has characterized James Tyler Kent as "the ultimate homeopath of the period when homeopathy flourished in America." Treuherz has noted Kent's pioneering use of extremely high dilutions (called "high potencies" by adherents of homeopathy) and "meticulous scholarship in the creation of his repertory" as among Kent's primary attributes as the homeopathic exemplar of his generation.
Works
- Sexual Neuroses. St. Louis, MO: Maynard and Tedford, 1879.
- Address before the International Hahnemmanian Association at Its Seventh Annual Meeting. 1887.
- Repertory of the Homœopathic Materia Medica. Lancaster, PA: Examiner Printing House, 1897.
- Lectures on Homoeopathic Philosophy. [1900] Memorial Edition. Chicago: Ehrhart and Karl, 1919.
- Lectures on Homoeopathic Materia Medica. Philadelphia: Boericke and Tafel, 1905.
- New Remedies, Clinical Cases, Lesser Writings, Aphorisms and Precepts. Chicago: Ehrhart and Karl, 1926.
Further reading
- Glen Irving Bidwell, How to Use the Repertory: With a Practical Analysis of Forty Homeopathic Remedies. Philadelphia: Boericke and Tafel, 1915.
- Amir Cassam, "Was Kent a Hahnemannian?" British Homeopathic Journal, vol. 88, no. 2 (April 1999), pp. 78-83.
- John S. Haller and Michael A. Flannery, The History of American Homeopathy: From Rational Medicine to Holistic Health Care. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2009.
- Francis Treuherz, "The Origins of Kent's Homeopathy," Journal of the American Institute of Homeopathy, vol. 77, no. 4 (1984).
External links
- Peter Morrell, "Essays on American Homeopathy," www.homeoint.org/