Summary
Dylan Evans: Placebo: mind over matter in modern medicine
PLACEBO - mind over matter in modern medicine Can we really be cured of disease by the power of our own thoughts alone? Faith healers and alternative therapists are convinced we can, but what does science say? Despite public opinion, traditional medicine has very strong beliefs about healing the mind. For the past fifty years, doctors have learned that the placebo effect, like sugar water, can alleviate almost any health problem. But the placebo only works if you believe in its action, so the trust that the placebo has gained in modern medicine has given scientific legitimacy to popular claims about the healing powers of the mind. In his intriguing research, Dylan Evans points out the flaws in scientific research into the placebo effect and exposes the limits of what can and cannot be cured by thought and the power of the mind. Drawing on new trends in immunology and evolutionary biology, Evans presents a new theory about how placebos actually work and raises some new questions about our understanding of health and disease.
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