The Term ‘Western Medicine’: An Overgeneralization That Neglects Traditional Indigenous Healing Practices

Abstract

In global health discourse, the term ‘Western medicine’ is widely used but not well interrogated. Grammatically, it comprises the noun ‘medicine’ and the adjective ‘western’, the latter assigning a geographical context. This framing suggests that ‘Western medicine’ refers specifically to forms of medicine created or practiced in the West - an interpretation that raises important questions about medical classification. In this sense, the term ‘Western medicine’ may be considered as an overgeneralization, as it suggests the absence of other kinds of medicine in the West, other than biomedicine.