Comments on: Developing your scientific skepticism: The Tu Quoque Fallacy

By: Lets come together

Lets come together — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 04:04:04 +0000

So now vital force is “unnecessary” and represents “magical thinking.” Look, a mini Rubricon skeptics will have to cross in order to reach the realm known as “persuasive and trustworthy” is that boundary where they suddenly realize they should take special care in labeling things which they dont completely understand. Yes, the points about homeopathy defenders trying to divert attention rather than defend are valid. But vitalism cannot be disproven. There are many phenoms you can prove exist but you can’t prove dont exist. This is because we use means to empirically measure things; some things claimed to exist may be impossible to debunk because of the extant possibility the proper means to measure a manifestation of the concept has yet to be invented. Just because chemistry places limits to the principles of water with terms like hydrogen bonding and van der walls forces doesn’t mean there is not another force or and interaction of existing forces at play to create vitalistic effects. Furthermore, researchers need some objectivity and incentive to even look to develop tools that could measure such a force. True CAM and others are sloppy with language and they hasty generalize. But skeptics have these probs as well.

By: Avijit

Avijit — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 15:35:14 +0000

Now that you are in the open why not address the one above.

In the mean time I look for words that explain Vital force to you.

By: Scott

Scott — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 12:32:23 +0000

Vital force? Really? Vitalism is prescientific thinking. It was a place-filler to explain organic systems until scientists like Friedrich Wöhler demonstrated it was unnecessary. Why don't homeopathy advocates accept this?

By: Avijit

Avijit — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 11:29:27 +0000

……….not to decide to abandon science for magical thinking about vitalism.

This is what a homeopathic doctor wrote during the Spanish flu in the USA:

“Aspirin and the other coal tar products are condemned as causing great number of unnecessary deaths. The omnipresent Aspirin is the most pernicious drug of all. It beguiles by its quick action of relief of pain, a relief which is but meretricious. In several cases Aspirin weakened the heart, depressed the vital forces (?), increased the mortality in mild cases and made convalesce slower.”

Do you understand what he means here by vital force or it requires explanation?

By: Avijit

Avijit — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 05:41:56 +0000

If homeopathy does not work, please explain, what was behind the higher survival rate during the cholera epidemic with homeopathic medicines?

http://homeoint.org/morrell/londonhh/outbreak.htm

Vioxx does not make homeopathy ethical! Off course it does.

In his “Lecture on Materia Medica ” First edition October 29, 1904, Dr. James Tyler Kent wrote under Abrotanum “A suddenly suppressed rheumatism of any joint followed by violent cardiac symptoms”.

Merck would not understand this; they did their own large scale trials. 140,000 Americans supposedly died because of this.