Light on the Mechanism of Holistic Therapies

There is a deep rift between the scientific establishment and holistic medicine in all its forms. One particularly strident example appeared in 1997. The Lancet publisheda systematic scientific review of studies on the effectiveness of homoeopathy. Such a review is the gold standard against which scientists challenge all innovators to be judged. This paper cited a previous review of similar caliber. Both found good-quality evidence that homoeopathy works significantly better than placebo.

This finding triggered a storm of negative responses, including two separate editorial articles published in the same edition of the journal. It continues to this day. The consensus remains that homoeopathy cannot work because there is noconceivable mechanism. Leaving aside the merits or otherwise of homoeopathy, this is just one strident example of the incredulity with which holistic therapies in general are met in the scientific establishment. The underlying problem lies, I submit, not so much with the therapies, as with the science.