Summary
Title: Homeopathy: How It Really Works
Author: Jay W. Shelton
Publisher: Prometheus Press
ISBN: 159102109X
Pro:
• Probably the most fair and balanced presentation on homeopathy available - or possible
• Explains everything needed to know about what homeopathy is and isn't
• Provides detailed information on why it can't work as homeopaths claim
Con:
• None
Description:
• Exploration of the workings and nature of homeopathic medicine
• Explains its history, how it functions, and what homeopaths believe about it
• Argues that homeopathy does not work as claimed
Book Review
Physicist Jay W. Shelton explores the scientific basis and practical effectiveness of homeopathic theory and treatments in his book Homeopathy: How It Really Works. Shelton finds that homeopathy *does work...after a fashion, and not in the way that practitioners and true believers think it does.
Homeopathy only works to the extent that people believe it will work because the context in which it is administered is one that is conducive to encouraging our body's natural healing mechanisms. There is nothing at all, in the treatments themselves that induce healing beyond what we would see in an ordinary sugar pill — which, quite often, is what homeopathic remedies literally are.
Shelton tackles homeopathy with great thoroughness, tracing the history of its development, examining the nature of its remedies, and analyzing the ways in which it might function. At no point in time, though, is the text completely one-sided.
Shelton devotes plenty of space to direct quotes from homeopaths themselves to avoid any accusation that he misrepresents what they do. He even spends three chapters describing the process of selecting a remedy for someone, administering it to a patient, and following up the results. The quotes from well-known homeopaths make it clear that this entire process is founded upon a tremendous amount of subjectivity rather than objective, clinical diagnosis.
- "It has been shown beyond all reasonable doubt that any approach other than random-assignment placebo-controlled double-blind clinical trials can easily deceive those involved. And yet the vast majority of homeopaths put their faith in cases, and as a result, they are probably deceived about the cause of patient improvement. Most of this inertia, this inability to utilize scientific advancements, can be attributed to homeopathy's reverence for its founder, Samuel Hahnemann. Homeopaths' blind faith in Hahnemann's teachings is like religious fundamentalism, with its acceptance of ancient written words as the highest truth."
Shelton doesn't buy the homeopaths' claims, but at every step of the way he strives to be as fair as possible. He balances what he writes with counter-arguments from homeopaths, or at least possible counter-arguments that he works out, and explains further why he thinks those counter-arguments fail. Throughout, he maintains the appropriate critical distance not only from homeopathy but also from his own feelings:
- "If evidence generated after the writing of this book proves me wrong about the role of the remedies themselves, I will be delighted. When we scientists stick our necks out by making falsifiable and hence risky predictions, we enjoy the outcome no matter what happens. If we are right, we get a little ego boost. If we are wrong, we learn something we did not previously know or believe was true. Both experiences are positive."
If only everyone could adhere to such an attitude!
Shelton strives to make the subject as clear and understandable as possible to the reader. Flipping through the book will reveal a number of charts and graphs, but Shelton's writing style is easy and engaging, making what should be a relatively dry subject come alive. This is probably the single best reference on homeopathy around, explaining all you need to know about how it is constructed and all you need to know about what's wrong with it.
