Homeopathy: Success of Dilution or Delusion

Many skeptics have questioned the legitimacy of homeopathy since the war between its practice and allopathic treatment has started. Critics have cited placebo effect for every success story it gains while triumphing on the complaints thrown at it. While it expands to include other oriental practices and increases its followers from the royal family of England to the rich and the famous Hollywood celebrities, its anti-believers painstakingly call it fraud and publish it on different media forms. The latest lash came from Wikipedia founder, Jimmy Wales when he opened a public chat in Quora making sure that everyone gets the point that he sees homeopathy as “mere scam and quackery” after rejecting the pleas to change the description of homeopathy in its Wikipedia page.  It seems to be a dim year for homeopathic practitioners as they see everyone as their enemy. They even accuse the Peterson Group, a non-profit organization website claiming neutral and objective opinions on all Complementary, Alternative and Integrative Medical practice after it published reviews on the decision of Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) to rewrite the regulations implemented on the processes of homeopathy in the United States.

Indeed, it is a very controversial year for homeopathy. Public support is sliding while its legislative connections seem to be thinning.  Moreover, a lot of its loyal supporters now think that its theoretical foundation is now logically inconsistent and self-contradictory to the point of absurdity. Despite the news only emphasizing doubts from its American followers, it seems that other countries which adapt western practice and beliefs now have uncertainties of its effectiveness. The government of Jakarta, Indonesia is even currently reviewing their own regulation on the practice. If he is still alive today, what would Samuel Hahnemann still think of the practice?

Critics argue that Hahnemann is aware that his dilutions are mere product of his imagination and ambition to be world renowned. For instance, dilutions were extreme.  “Active preparations” were made by repeated tenfold dilutions of the original extract.  Hahnemann was not bothered by the fact that at these dilutions none of the original substance remained; he claimed that the power of the curative solution did not come from the presence of an active ingredient, but from the fact that the original substance had in some way imprinted itself on the solution.

Until now, the arguments still do not rest but many believe that homeopathy is already on the losing side.