A reading of qi : being in a world of qi in contemporary Melbourne

Abstract

This thesis begins with the author reflecting on his practice experience, as a traditional acupuncturist, through which the research question is posed. The research represents a kind of cross-cultural encounter whereby the interpenetration of cultures and ideas alerts us to new and different ways on how knowledge is garnered and impacts on lived experience with reference to the Chinese medical idea of qi. Unlike the usual interpretation of a cross-cultural encounter, the cross-cultural meeting to which I refer is occurring in a local Australian setting, whereby ancient medical ideas and practices are being interpreted, applied and experienced. Construed as a form of naturalistic inquiry and as a critique of the Western episteme, Chinese medical ideas and the worldview it presents provided the base from which this thesis emerges. Guided by contemporary interpretations of naturalistic inquiry, the thesis sets out to explore how Australian born and trained acupuncturists, working with Australians, reflect on their experience of and with qi. The thesis is premised on the idea that being in the world may be construed as qi manifest. At the same time, qi offers a praxis for apprehending our being in the world