Magic of signs: a non-local interpretation of homeopathy^{[ ☆ ]}

Abstract

Among homeopaths the common idea about a working hypothesis for homeopathic effects seems to be that, during the potentization process, ‘information’ or ‘energy’ is being preserved or even enhanced in homeopathic remedies. The organism is said to be able to pick up this information, which in turn will stimulate the organism into a self-healing response. According to this view the decisive element of homeopathic therapy is the remedy which locally contains and conveys this information. I question this view for empirical and theoretical reasons. Empirical research has shown a repetitive pattern, in fundamental and clinical research alike: there are many anomalies in high-dilution research and clinical homeopathic trials which will set any observing researcher thinking. But no single paradigm has proved stable enough in order to produce repeatable results independent of the researcher. I conclude that the database is too weak and contradictory to substantiate a local interpretation of homeopathy, in which the remedy is endowed with causal-informational content irrespective of the circumstances. I propose a non-local interpretation to understand the anomalies along the lines of Jung's notion of synchronicity and make some predictions following this analysis.

Keywords

homeopathy - model - causality - synchronicity

^☆ This paper was presented first as an invited lecture to the Fourth European Biennial Meeting of the Society for Scientific Exploration in Valencia in October 1998. A previous version of this paper was published as ‘Magic of signs: A nonlocal interpretation of homeopathy’ in J Sci Res 1999, 13: 291–315.