Speaking of placebos, there is a very interesting article in _Cerebrum_ (Vol. 2, No. 1,
Winter 2000) by Anne Harrington entitled "The whiteness of lies: Swallowing the placebo
effect" (pp. 71-86). The theme of the article involves the following:
"What placebo effects challenge us to ask is: How does the force of human cultural
imagination, on the one side, and the energy of human sociability, on the other,
interact
to affect our biology and literally make us sick or well? How does the brain function
as
a translator between events we experience supposedly outside ourselves, in our society
and culture, and events we experience inside our bodies, in our physiology and
biochemistry?" (p. 72)
--
Jeffry P. Ricker, Ph.D. Office Phone: (480) 423-6213
9000 E. Chaparral Rd. FAX Number: (480) 423-6298
Psychology Department [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Scottsdale Community College
Scottsdale, AZ 85256-2626
"The truth is rare and never simple."
Oscar Wilde
"Science must begin with myths and with the criticism of myths"
Karl Popper
Listowner: Psychologists Educating Students to Think Skeptically (PESTS)
