Placebo: Mind over Matter in Modern Medicine (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

'The placebo effect is fundamental to medical treatment, and this book brilliantly explores the scientific evidence in an accessible and gripping manner' Lewis Wolpert 'The placebo effect, of such huge importance in our lives, is an effect which, according to conventional scientific wisdom, ought not to exist. Now, out of left field, springs a modern-day philosopher with challenging -- and persuasive -- ideas about what the effect amounts to and why' Nicholas Humphrey --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description

Can we really cure ourselves of disease by the power of thought alone? Faith healers and alternative therapists are convinced that we can, but what does science say? Contrary to public perception, orthodox medical opinion is remarkably confident about the healing powers of the mind. For the past fifty years, doctors have been taught that placebos such as sugar pills and water injections can relieve virtually any kind of medical condition. Yet placebos only work if you believe they work, so the medical confidence in the power of the placebo effect has provided scientific legitimacy to popular claims about the healing power of the mind. In this intriguing exploration, Dylan Evans exposes the flaws in the scientific research into the placebo effect and reveals the limits of what can and cannot be cured by thought alone. Drawing on new ideas in immunology and evolutionary biology, Evans proposes a new theory about how placebos work, and asks some searching questions about our concepts of health and disease

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (April 8, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195220544
• ISBN-13: 978-0195220544
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #538,820 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Scientific look at mental healing, June 12, 2004

By	Pieter "Toypom" (Johannesburg) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Placebo: The Belief Effect (Hardcover)

In this investigation of the placebo effect, the author asserts that orthodox medical opinion has for decades been convinced about the healing powers of the mind. This confidence in the power of the placebo effect provides scientific legitimacy to the many claims about mental healing.

By exploring recent research in evolutionary biology and immunology, Evans proposes a new theory on how placebos work while investigating and evaluating current ideas of health and disease. He looks at the history of the placebo effect and investigates the efficacy of placebos by sifting the evidence and providing an opinion on which medical problems can be cured by its use.

In chapter 3, The Acute Phase Response, Evans sets out his theory of the function of a single biological mechanism in the placebo phenomenon; he also states that this is not a proven theory and needs much further research. The next chapter looks at the belief effect, the key mental event that triggers physiological processes that result in healing.

Investigating the physical and psychological aspects of health in evolutionary context, he also considers the potential of placebos to harm. In more metaphysical terms, one may say he looks at positive and negative mental energy, the curse and the blessing, but in scientific terms. Various alternative healing modalities are also discussed, as well as psychotherapy, which the author claims may be the purest placebo.

Ethical questions are considered next in the chapter The Witch Doctor's Dilemma. The author concludes that the impressive findings of recent scientific research in mind-body medicine have revealed that the healing power of the mind may not be unlimited, but that it is certainly not insignificant. The mind fights disease in many ways and one of those is to prompt us to take action, whether by the use of allopathic or alternative medicine. The book concludes with copious notes, a bibliography and an index. I have found this an honest and open-minded look at the healing power of the mind, albeit from a strictly scientific respective.

1 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Most Interesting, February 5, 2008

By	Michael Grace "Bookworm" (Costa Rica) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Placebos are far more specific than commonly believed. For me this book could've benefitted from more technical detail, but that is a matter of taste.