geb@cadre.ARPA (Gordon E. Banks) (08/14/85)
The posting on "folk medicine" was a good one on illustrating the modern form it seems to be taking, which has also been illustrated on the net by the "holistic medicine" and nutrition posters. It indeed is a mish-mash of ancient ideas, old wife's tales, and misunderstood gleanings from science. One sure way to tell a quack is that they claim to have all the answers and the answers are usually simple. While on the one hand they claim to be "back-to-nature" boys, one the other, they deny all scientific evidence about man's natural (evolutionarily determined) biological nature by propounding that he take all manner of megavitamins and stop eating foods that he has eaten for thousands if not millions of years. There are no panaceas. All disease is not caused by eating the wrong foods, environmental poisons, misalignment of the spine, vitamin deficiencies, etc. etc. The scientific approach is to admit our ignorance in the many places it exists. Those impatient for answers or cures, or insecure in a capricious universe turn to systems promising the answers, be it "medicine" or fundamentalist religion. I think it would be fascinating for someone to study the psychology of people who embrace these belief systems. Their threshold for evidence is incredibly low, as witnessed by what they accept as evidence, laid out for all to see here in their recent postings. They also seem to have the inability to consider any facts contrary to their beliefs. I would be interested to see some survey that correlates religious belief with folk medicine. I know they aren't all fundamentalists, but even those I have known of a left wing pursuasion (mainly in the '60s) have tended to Buddhism, B'hai, and other religous systems. Some of my relatives who have been Shaklee vitamin crazies have been more or less religious fanatics too. I would guess someone could garner material for a master's thesis right here on the net, if they were interested.
drv@kitc.UUCP (Dennis Vogel) (09/03/85)
> > The posting on "folk medicine" was a good one on illustrating the > modern form it seems to be taking, which has also been illustrated > on the net by the "holistic medicine" and nutrition posters. > .... I think > it would be fascinating for someone to study the psychology > of people who embrace these belief systems. For an interesting study of the psychology of people who follow causes, see Eric Hoffer's "The True Believer". Don't have it in front of me but I believe it was published in the 50's. A scholarly study of people and causes and what makes people follow what seem to be ridiculous ideals. Dennis Vogel AT&T Information Systems S. Plainfield, NJ