Homeopathy - medicine or superstition?

In the second part of the documentary "Enemies of reason", Richard Dawkins evaluates the scientific basis of Homeopathy. I am surprised to learn that Homeopathy believes in "like cures like". This is exact opposite of what Ayurveda believes (like increases like) and what modern medical science knows. Dawkins explains that this is not the same concept as a "vaccine" which introduces a diminished form of a virus to provoke the body's immune system. Instead, Homeopathy believes that "what causes similar symptoms cures those symptoms". So diluted poison ivy cures skin rash because undiluted poise ivy causes rash! To cure streaming eyes, the medicine is, you guessed it, diluted red onions!
Even more curiously, Homeopathy believes that "the more the active ingredient is diluted, the more potent it becomes". Most Homeopathic medicines are marked 30c. This is, hold your breath, 1 part medicine : 100^30 parts water! This is so huge a scale that for a single drop of medicine, not even the entire water on earth is enough to dilute. Homeopaths acknowledge that there is not even a single molecule of active ingredient in the medicines sold, it is just water!
So how does it work then? Enter another theory which says "water in the bottle of medicine has memory of the active ingredient" even though there is not even a single molecule of the active ingredient present. It is worth noting here that this "water memory" theory is also believed by some non-Homeopaths. For example, here Sadhguru (of Isha Foundation) says the same thing. Unfortunately, there is no scientific basis for this theory. Dawkins points out that Homeopathy has consistently failed to generate any positive outcome in the controlled scientific experiments. It is only as good as a "placebo".

But it must be said that many people vouch for the effectiveness of Homeopathy. Even I have a "homeopathic cream" at home which helps a lot in pain relief. Is it just placebo effect? May be. Or may be not. Homeopaths are trying their best to convince people that there is a scientific basis which "scientific fundamentalists" like Dawkins are refusing to acknowledge. This article makes a very strong case. But if we then read this article, we get a different picture.
In the end, one has to make a personal choice. It is a bias surely and my bias is towards science. I feel it is always better to be on the side of science than on the side of mysticism. So my current view, given the facts, is that Homeopathy is indeed a placebo but possibly a harmless and useful one.

Comments

Shanmugam said…
I totally agree with you.. Relying on science is safer because everything that is accepted in scientific community has strong evidence to support it.. Many experiments have been done on water memory and so far, no convincing evidence has been found when the experiments were done in controlled conditions... It has been completely rejected by science.

But Sadhguru goes on to say that science has recognized it as a fact, which is not true.. And he said that in a discourse given in IIT! Whether water has memory or not is a different thing.. But Sadhguru didnt just stop saying that 'Water has memory', he also added saying that 'science has accepted it' which is obviously not true...

This and many recent examples that I noticed from Sadhguru leaves me to wonder even if enlightened people's thinking as biased. This example surely shows 'confirmation bias'..

I recently wrote an article in my blog that has the story of my own journey, that includes my experience with Isha. Here it is: https://nellaishanmugam.wordpress.com/2017/05/10/the-journey-of-a-seeker-my-story/

I am sure you will find it interesting, as I have written down some observations regarding Sadhguru and Osho..
Phanindra said…
Dear Shanmugam,

Nice reading your comment again in my blog! I just checked your blog and enjoyed reading your article on your spritual journey (https://nellaishanmugam.wordpress.com/2017/05/10/the-journey-of-a-seeker-my-story/). Seems you had awesome spiritual experiences! Wonderful. Your knowledge is impressive. I particularly enjoyed your detailed comparison of Sadhguru and Osho. Great work. BTW, you are right. There was at least one guy who said he knows Sadhguru in the past and that Sadhguru read Osho extensively. He said many more things about Sadhguru which are difficult to believe though. You can check that article here - http://halfcenturywisdom.blogspot.com/2016/08/a-chance-encounter-that-stirred-me-to.html


Coming to your comment, I too find that Sadhguru is often eager to give a scientific color to mystic things. He is like Deepak Chopra in this regard & Deepak is often criticized by scientists that he is propagating questionable stuff as science. For example, in this recent article, which is actually quite awesome, Sadhguru implies that lighting lamps and opening locks with music is somehow explainable by science! See: http://isha.sadhguru.org/blog/yoga-meditation/demystifying-yoga/can-music-become-yoga/
I found this article online and thought I will share
http://www.collective-evolution.com/2015/12/20/study-shows-water-has-memory-german-scientists-expand-on-dr-emotos-work/

Theres more on the internet if you just search for water has memory
Phanindra said…
@The Meditating lion

Thanks for the link! I have read about similar studies when I researched while writing this article. They are not mainstream yet.

I'm definitely loving the information. I'm book-marking and will be tweeting this to my followers! Fantastic blog and brilliant design.
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