Against homeopathy - a utilitarian perspective

Kevin R. Smith

doi:10.1111/j.1467-8519.2010.01876.x

Against homeopathy - a utilitarian perspective

Kevin R. Smith

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

36 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

I examine the positive and negative features of homeopathy from an ethical perspective. I consider: (a) several potentially beneficial features of homeopathy, including non-invasiveness, cost-effectiveness, holism, placebo benefits and agent autonomy; and (b) several potentially negative features of homeopathy, including failure to seek effective healthcare, wastage of resources, promulgation of false beliefs and a weakening of commitment to scientific medicine. A utilitarian analysis of the utilities and disutilities leads to the conclusion that homeopathy is ethically unacceptable and ought to be actively rejected by healthcare professionals.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	398–409
Number of pages	12
Journal	Bioethics
Volume	26
Issue number	8
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8519.2010.01876.x
Publication status	Published - Oct 2012

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