Abstract:

According to the theory of paradigms and scientific revolutions by American philosopher Thomas Kuhn, the intrinsic symbolic systems and value standards of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Western medicine are completely different, representing two competing “paradigms”. Kuhn argues that there is “incommensurability” between different paradigms, where in the process of scientific revolutions, new theories overthrow and replace old ones. From the theoretical perspective of the unity and diversity of truth, while there is only one truthful understanding of a particular research object, the manifestations of truth can be diverse. Traditional Chinese and Western medicine are different expressions of the understanding of human health and diseases. The identical nature of the research objects lays the theoretical foundation for the commensurability of TCM and Western medicine. Furthermore, the fruitful achievements achieved by China in the process of exploring the curriculum and professional personnel training for the integration of Chinese and Western medicine have also confirmed in practice that there is a significant commensurability between TCM and Western medicine.

Key words: integration of traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine, commensurability, paradigm