Abstract
There are many reasons why patients turn to a homeopathic therapy. I described these in the previous chapters. If we take into account recent knowledge of those parts of homeopathy we can no longer accept from a scientific point of view, a new picture of homeopathy emerges.
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Notes
- 1.
The term “spiritual” is a difficult term that is often misunderstood and misused. I use “spiritual” here only in the sense of the following definition, which does not contradict natural science, but which is certainly still unfamiliar as part of medicine (see the section entitled “The terms ‘spirit’ and ‘spiritual’ ”). The spirit of man is the creative instance of consciousness that is superior to intellect (mind). This is where ideas, imagination, and suggestions are produced and put to work. A spiritual problem is one that arises not so much in reality as in the individual perception and imagination of the patient. We can surely imagine a vital force here, but this has nothing to do with reality. In turn, our imagination can be changed through further pieces of imagination, information, or suggestions (e.g., Berger et al. 2013).
Including the spiritual level does not mean spiritual healing or anything of that kind. With the term “spirit’’ I don't want to let some kind of irrational magic come in “through the back door’’. Involving the spiritual level means getting closer to the patient in his/her complexity as a human being, and this may have an influence on health that has been underestimated (or has been difficult to grasp) so far in scientific medicine.
- 2.
Falsification is the generally accepted scientific method used today to test a hypothesis (in our case, the hypothesis that homeopathic remedies have a medical effect), i.e., to check their truthfulness. If a hypothesis can withstand this, it is regarded as a preliminary state of knowledge until such times as scientific progress may later refute or modify it. If a hypothesis cannot withstand the test, and if there are no systematic errors and misunderstandings in it that could be eliminated, then it must be regarded as refuted. An “absolute truth” is not known in the principle of falsificationism, only approximations to it in the sense of statements of probability. In critical rationalism (Karl Popper), this is the maximum attainable state of knowledge.
Neither is it possible in this sense to prove causal connections in any definitive manner (such an attempt would lead to an infinite regress). However, unlike verification, falsification allows conclusions to be drawn about the degree of probability of causal relationships. This is precisely why falsification has established itself as a standard in (medical) research.
- 3.
A study by Brien et al. (2010) is already taking this approach and concludes that homeopathic consultation has a positive effect (in contrast to the gift of globules).
- 4.
A little experiment on this principle: Close your eyes for a moment and say to yourself, “I’m exhaling.’’ Remain like this for a moment, and then read on.
Close your eyes again and say to yourself, “I’m breathing out in a long and relaxed way.’’ Do you notice a difference in the depth and length of exhalation, in your overall muscular tension, or something similar? And would such changes be measurable? Would the effect of the mental imagination (“long and relaxed”) thus be objectifiable?
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Grams, N. (2019). What Remains of Homeopathy in the 21st Century?. In: Homeopathy Reconsidered. Copernicus, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00509-2_5
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