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Does homeopathy work?
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Homeopathy does not have improved health benefits compared to conventional medicine

In a multitude of studies done throughout the entirety of the 21st Century, homeopathy, time and time again, has been proven to yield no conclusively beneficial results. Without scientific evidence, homeopathy's efficacy is seriously in question.

The Argument

Homeopathy does not cause marked health benefits in people who use it as opposed to those who use conventional medical practices. Multiple huge studies across thousands of individual cases have shown zero significant scientific evidence for the efficacy of diluting medicine in water many times over. In 2015, Smithsonian Magazine reported that "After assessing more than 1,800 studies on homeopathy, Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council was only able to find 225 that were rigorous enough to analyze. And a systematic review of these studies revealed 'no good quality evidence to support the claim that homeopathy is effective in treating health conditions.'"[1] Statistically, any evidence for such a correlation is minimal at best, so, once again, the scientific community should not regard homeopathy as a viable treatment option for illness.

Counter arguments

The mainstream scientific community does not take homeopathy seriously, and they certainly do not take into account the incredibly convincing bits of evidence supporting homeopathy as a legitimately beneficial form of treatment for symptoms of illness. The bias within science cuts to the core of the mission of homeopaths, who wish to expose the public to alternative methods of treatment that do not temporarily suppress symptoms and bankrupt large-scale pharmaceutical corporations. Do not always trust mainstream scientific publications and studies.

Proponents

Premises

[P1] Science is based on proving a hypothesis wrong, and when that hypothesis is proven wrong again and again, then there is clearly some flawed scientific reasoning at the heart of its precepts. [P2] Homeopathy has never yielded significant statistical benefits to its patients as opposed to those who take conventional medicine. [P3] Homeopathy does not work and should not be encouraged.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P2] Scientific studies today are notoriously biased and do not show the whole picture of bodily healing. Big pharmaceutical companies only look to profit from temporarily suppressing, conventional medication, while alternative medicine could be the answer to ailments around the world. [Rejecting P3] Homeopathy should not necessarily be discounted and more research should be done.

References

  1. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/1800-studies-later-scientists-conclude-homeopathy-doesnt-work-180954534/
This page was last edited on Tuesday, 10 Nov 2020 at 18:35 UTC

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