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Homeopathy has never kept anyone alive. I'm sure there are cases where it did, e.g. by virtue of offering something benign in place of something in the mainstr

by wissler 14y ago

Homeopathy has never kept anyone alive. I'm sure there are cases where it did, e.g. by virtue of offering something benign in place of something in the mainstream that might have killed. People are comforted by the thought that modern medicine has completely transcended the barbarity of its own past, but doctors are humans and, on average, are subject to the same kinds of irrationality as everyone else is, and if you're unlucky enough to have to get up close to modern medicine and if you pay attention, you'll see the barbarism very clearly.

rmc 14y ago
I'm sure there are cases where it did, e.g. by virtue of offering something benign in place of something in the mainstream that might have killed. When homeopathy was invented about 150 years ago, it was actually safer than real medicine, but that's because real medicine was quite dangerous, and homeopathy wasn't actually any treatment, so the "doing nothing" approach (homeopathy) was safer than the current real medicine. However real medicine has gotten a lot better.
- wissler 14y ago
  However real medicine has gotten a lot better. It hasn't gotten better enough. Homeopathy is, in a certain sense, propaganda for modern medicine, because instead of people contrasting modern medicine with what it could and should be, they compare it to something that's obviously worse, and then they feel pleased with themselves for being so smart and become complacent about further improving modern medicine.
  - rmc 14y ago
    It hasn't gotten better enough Yes, medicine is not finished yet (we haven't cured death yet). However medicine hasn't stopped yet and keeps researching. And medicine is waaaay better than it was 50, 100 or 150 years ago.
  - illuminate 14y ago
    "It hasn't gotten better enough. Homeopathy is, in a certain sense, propaganda for modern medicine" Except that it's not, because its adherents demand revolution, not reform.
btilly 14y ago
I'm married to a doctor. I could not agree with this comment more. If you're sick, modern medicine is far and away your best hope. It is not kind. It is not wise. It does not maintain the standards that practitioners would like us to believe. Nor are those practitioners as knowledgeable and wise as they would like us (and themselves) to believe. It is still your best hope. Flaws and all, you should depend on it for your life.
- edanm 14y ago
  In short, "It sucks, but it's the best there is right now". This actually pertains to an awful lot of things in the modern world (democracy, for example). It's good to remember both sides of that sentence - if you're sick, seek modern medicine. But if you're a scientist/politician/practitioner, remember that there's a lot left to improve.
- wissler 14y ago
  You can do a bit better than just trusting it by educating yourself and seeking second or third opinions on treatment. Medicine isn't a special case, it's just part of the human condition that we haven't fully crossed the threshold from acting like apes to acting like truly civilized people. What makes this worse is when people get all proud of how much we have accomplished, without recognizing how far we yet must go.
- yason 14y ago
  Modern medicine basically works like this: you destructively remove the offending condition as down to the root cause as you can reason about, and then let the body heal itself and recover from the shock of the treatment. While this is great for many acute conditions, I can understand why people might want to choose something else first.
  - xtracto 14y ago
    Really spot on. Like, how the "cure" for a fissure in anno is to open another fissure on the side. I am sure in 50 years people will see such procedure as barbaric.

by wissler 14y ago

rmc 14y ago

I'm sure there are cases where it did, e.g. by virtue of offering something benign in place of something in the mainstream that might have killed. When homeopathy was invented about 150 years ago, it was actually safer than real medicine, but that's because real medicine was quite dangerous, and homeopathy wasn't actually any treatment, so the "doing nothing" approach (homeopathy) was safer than the current real medicine. However real medicine has gotten a lot better.

wissler 14y ago
However real medicine has gotten a lot better. It hasn't gotten better enough. Homeopathy is, in a certain sense, propaganda for modern medicine, because instead of people contrasting modern medicine with what it could and should be, they compare it to something that's obviously worse, and then they feel pleased with themselves for being so smart and become complacent about further improving modern medicine.
- rmc 14y ago
  It hasn't gotten better enough Yes, medicine is not finished yet (we haven't cured death yet). However medicine hasn't stopped yet and keeps researching. And medicine is waaaay better than it was 50, 100 or 150 years ago.
- illuminate 14y ago
  "It hasn't gotten better enough. Homeopathy is, in a certain sense, propaganda for modern medicine" Except that it's not, because its adherents demand revolution, not reform.

btilly 14y ago

I'm married to a doctor. I could not agree with this comment more. If you're sick, modern medicine is far and away your best hope. It is not kind. It is not wise. It does not maintain the standards that practitioners would like us to believe. Nor are those practitioners as knowledgeable and wise as they would like us (and themselves) to believe. It is still your best hope. Flaws and all, you should depend on it for your life.

edanm 14y ago
In short, "It sucks, but it's the best there is right now". This actually pertains to an awful lot of things in the modern world (democracy, for example). It's good to remember both sides of that sentence - if you're sick, seek modern medicine. But if you're a scientist/politician/practitioner, remember that there's a lot left to improve.
wissler 14y ago
You can do a bit better than just trusting it by educating yourself and seeking second or third opinions on treatment. Medicine isn't a special case, it's just part of the human condition that we haven't fully crossed the threshold from acting like apes to acting like truly civilized people. What makes this worse is when people get all proud of how much we have accomplished, without recognizing how far we yet must go.
yason 14y ago
Modern medicine basically works like this: you destructively remove the offending condition as down to the root cause as you can reason about, and then let the body heal itself and recover from the shock of the treatment. While this is great for many acute conditions, I can understand why people might want to choose something else first.
- xtracto 14y ago
  Really spot on. Like, how the "cure" for a fissure in anno is to open another fissure on the side. I am sure in 50 years people will see such procedure as barbaric.