Madam, - I found the articles on homeopathy in your Health Supplement of September 28th to be uncritical. No evidence was requested or cited for the various claims, while testimonials from satisfied customers were accepted without question. God forbid that as a result of these pieces someone who is actually ill should prefer the dubious benefits of homeopathy to treatment prescribed to them by a medical professional.
Homeopathy was conceived by Samuel Hahnemann in the late 18th and early 19th century, back when sickness was treated with therapies such as purging, starving, vomiting and bloodletting. He engaged in some empirical observation, but mostly reached his conclusions by intuition and revelation.
There are two metaphysical laws which serve as the cornerstone of this belief system. The Law of Similars says essentially that like heals like, and is nothing more than imitative magic, which your readers will remember is best illustrated by cavemen throwing sticks at paintings of bison to ensure a good hunt.
The Laws of Infinitesimals says in effect that less is more, the logical conclusion of which is that not taking the treatment will result in the maximum effect on health. In most cases that is exactly what the patients are doing, as the dilutions employed by homeopaths often exceed the dilution limit of the substance used, meaning the chances of finding a single molecule of the active substance in the remedy are nil.
Hahnemann's theories about the treatment of illness are predicated on the existence of "vital energies" for which there exist no empirical evidence. In this respect the modern practitioners are no different. The tenets of homeopathy are utterly at odds with chemistry, biology and physics as we know them. You would have as much success with your symptoms appealing to Father Christmas.
Is it too much to expect the flagship of Irish journalism to examine subjects from more than one angle? - Yours, etc.,
JASON MORDAUNT,
Woodbrook Hall,
Castleknock,
Dublin 15.