Yoruba Indigenous Medicine in Search of Justification

Abstract

Yoruba Indigenous Medicine (YIM) faces the question of empirical justification. This presents a satisfying conditions of the scientific requirements for its significance and recognition. YIM is questioned for lack of empirical justification whereas Orthodox Medicine (OM) takes pride in being justified. This paper argues that if being justified is being empirically verifiable, then science, which is the foundation for OM, is also ultimately unjustified. If YIM is magical because it is not empirically justifiable then OM suffers the same fate. However, the paper further argues that if being justified is defined by being efficacious, then YIM is as justified as OM. The paper intends to show that science is ultimately empirically unjustified. Showing this disqualifies OM from alleging YIM as empirically unjustified. The paper concludes that in matter of empirical justification, both YIM and OM fall whereas in matter of efficacy they stand. Employing philosophical means, the paper holds that YIM shares the same lot with OM. Therefore, OM lacks sufficient grounds to declare YIM as unjustified.