"Why would anyone choose to ingest powerful pharmaceuticals if they could experience significant improvements simply by believing that homeopathy works?"
Because if you want to perpetuate a widespread belief that homeopathy works, you have to require an equally widespead ignorance of how real chemistry works. Then, to have a modern civilization at all, you have to also have an elite that does understand how real chemistry works.
I'm sure you can understand how much of a problem this is going to become.
Well, the placebo effect is also due to real chemistry ... just not chemistry that anyone understands enough to start designing actual patentable pharmaceuticals to harness it (yet).
I would counter that just as many people naively take advil when they get a headache. I think many doctors would say that OTC NSAID abuse is probably at least as big a problem as people not getting rid of their ailments b/c they took homeopathic remedies.
Most people don't have a clue what is really happening when they flip on a light switch in their home ... so by your argument they should avoid electricity, appliances, etc.
The difference is, the light switch switches on the light regardless if I believe in light switches. Thus it is comparable with conventional medicine rather than homeopathy.
And even though - just like with regular medicine - I don't have to know exactly how it works for it to function, I also don't have to have false beliefs how it works.
Do you think mainstream pharmaceuticals are 100% effective? They are analogous to a light switch that switches the light on/off about 60% of the time at best.
The placebo effect works 10-20% of the time. So we're talking about something that is almost as effective.
Most people taking advil OR those little homeopathic tablets know/understand nothing about how they work.
In the case of homeopathy, you don't need to know why it works -- in fact, knowing that it works via the placebo effect might undermine its effectiveness :)
Ask someone on the street how Advil works. Just because a placebo works only because of a false belief and not just in spite of a false belief does not make those who take it any dumber. :)
Because if you want to perpetuate a widespread belief that homeopathy works, you have to require an equally widespead ignorance of how real chemistry works. Then, to have a modern civilization at all, you have to also have an elite that does understand how real chemistry works.
I'm sure you can understand how much of a problem this is going to become.