Czy ziołolecznictwo ludowe jest ludowe? Na marginesie dziewiętnasto- i dwudziestowiecznych debat wokół korzeni fitoterapii

The question of the direction of information fl ow related to herbal treatment has been a topic of interest for researchers for centuries. However, “influenceology,” which involves identifying mutual relationships and dependencies, can be misleading, especially when seeking one-way solutions as a desirable form of response to issues related to broadly defined cultural phenomena. The term “influence-ology” was coined by literary scholars criticizing the positivist methodology derived from evolutionism. This methodology focused on finding all possible influences between literary works, resulting in often unwarranted and even ridiculous conclusions, and above all, leading to the squandering of what is the essence of literature. It seems that an ethnologist tracing influence in the context of herbal medicine loses sight of what is the essence of folk culture. The question “Is folk herbalism folk?” assumes a historical and source nature and contains an evolutionary desire to determine a one-way influence. Although poorly posed, it opens up the field for presenting arguments that the parties used in the discussion. These considerations are the subject of this article.