A Skeptic’s Guide to Homeopathy

March 2015 saw the release of the Australian Government’s National Health and Medical Research Council’s  Statement on Homeopathy. It concluded:  

“..that there is no good quality evidence to support the claim that homeopathy is effective in treating health conditions.”

That’s as good a reason as any to revisit the following article, first seen here in 2010.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Homeopathy is an “alternative medicine” invented in the early 19^th century by German doctor Samuel Hahnemann. Despite numerous experiments showing homeopathy to have no effect, it has become a multi-million dollar international industry with its own special rules in advertising law.

The writings of Samuel Hahnemann

I admit to a certain curiosity about old homeopathy books. What do they contain? Is there any science in these books?  Exactly what did Samuel Hahnemann write that gained him such a dedicated following?

If you’re unfamiliar with Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy, or the alternative medicine practice of homeopathy, you might like to read this introduction before reading any further with this post.

Generally, Hahnemann’s writings about homeopathy were translated into English not long after the publication of the original German versions. In all my reading about homeopathy, I’ve seen almost no comments taken from these translations of Samuel Hahnemann’s work.

My approach to this material will be: just because a book is old, that doesn’t mean I’ll ignore poor reasoning and throw away everything learnt in the last 200 years.  I’m looking for good evidence and logical reasoning to back up any claims.

Critics might suggest I’ve only looked into Hahnemann’s writings with the idea of cherry picking it and then dismissing it. Not so: if I find good science I’ll change my mind.  Hahnemann claimed to have done experiments.

A Critical Look at Homeopathy

Graeme Hanigan of “The Celestial Teapot” reviews Homeopathy.  Graeme writes:

The following explanation for homoeopathy is taken from the Australian Homeopathic Association.

Homeopathy is a complete system of medicine developed by German physician and chemist, Dr Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843), based on the principle of “let likes cure likes”. This law or principle is based on a long held belief as far back as Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, and other ancient healers such as Paracelsus, that substances that produce symptoms in a healthy individual can be used to treat similar symptoms in a sick person.

Let’s take a critical look at this statement.

Homeopathy is a complete system of medicine

This is an extraordinary claim requiring extraordinary evidence to support it.

… developed by German physician and chemist, Dr Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843).

This statement is supported by historical data and can be considered

A Skeptics Guide to Homeopathy

Homeopathy Week is upon us! To celebrate, here is our view on Homeopathy. (This and many other discussion topics can be found at our  “Useful Info” link).

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Homeopathy is an “alternative medicine” invented in the early 19^th century by German doctor Samuel Hahnemann. Despite numerous experiments showing homeopathy to have no effect, it has become a multi-million dollar international industry with its own special rules in advertising law.