Guest guest Posted March 11, 2003 Report Share Posted March 11, 2003 , " James Ramholz " < jramholz> wrote: The trend to explain away phenomena in > CM (qi is metaphysics, meridians don't exist, the efficacy of herbs > is due solely to unknown chemical constituents) by scientific > methods is becoming stronger with the growing self-interests of > pharmaceutical companies and medical acupuncturists. that is not the only impetus. sources ranging from unschuld to kapchuk have proclaimed qi si a concept, not a " thing " that exists " out there " . According to kapchuk, qi is an organizational tool that exists solely in our minds. I won't touch the reality of meridians,but one thing about herbs is clear: if you remove the biochemicals, they don't do anything, so they must be dependent in some way on these biochemicals. I agree that the science of complexity will probably allow us to do more a sophisticated analysis of polypharmacy formulas and how they act, but I think it is an error to think complexity science is an abandonment of reductionism. Complexity seeks to understand the nature of complex systems which includes biochemical reactions. It is not an abandonment of biochem, but a new angle on it. IMO, complexity will lead to an understanding of biochem that is holistic and systems oriented. It will not lead to a replacement of the biochem model with energy medicine. According to kuhn, the way paradigms fall is when normal science is tested and reaches it limits. We need to push the limits of normal science. Paradigms do not change by proposing a new paradigm and insisting it is right or waiting for truth to prevail. that is how cults get started. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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