The following is a list of fields of endeavor and concepts that critics believe or have been characterized as having skepticism or scientific skepticism aspects. The definition refers to any concept, method, profession, organization, or person who has ever (including historical) been associated with the concept of critical skepticism. The subject or person may have been on the receiving end of accusations, on the accusing end, or on the study end (hence the inclusion of various terms related to medicine, science, psychology, logic, law, etc.). Some of these concepts, or certain parts of them, may be the subject of scientific research and may not be wholly dismissed by the scientific community. See the individual articles for detailed information.
Characteristics
1. This list is about skepticism as well as its association with criticisms, which is the reason for the inclusion of some topics about criticisms. The two topics are intimately related. The characteristics of scientific skepticism utilizes critical thinking in evaluating claims to reach a well-justified conclusion or logical answer, and attempts to oppose claims made which lack suitable evidential basis. Like a scientist, a scientific skeptic aims to decide claims based on verifiability and falsifiability rather than accepting claims on faith, anecdotes, or relying on unfalsifiable categories. Skeptics often focus their criticism on claims they consider to be implausible, dubious or clearly contradictory to generally accepted science. The term pseudoskepticism is often used by the opponents of skepticism as a way of summarizing their critique.
2. Some items are included simply because there has been debate from skeptical critics that have characterized it as its possible involvement of being or having a relationship to criticism, regardless of whether it was or was not. Other items are included as educational aids, as an understanding of these subjects, to enable one to better understand the subject of skeptical topics, and hopefully, making the whole process of scientfic skepticism much more transparent.
3. Therefore inclusion here is definitely not a statement that the subject matter is skeptical, that soley it has aspects regarded as rational skepticism by certain groups or people. It is only listed here because scientific skeptics, debunkers, consumer protection advocates, and/or government officials (FDA, FTC, etc.) consider the subject to be in some manner related to the subject of skepticism or criticisms, and therefore of possible value when researching the subject.
List
Alternative medicine
- Alternative medicine
- Acupuncture Acupuncture is the practice of inserting very thin needles in specific acupuncture points or combinations of points on the body to improve health and well-being. "There are over 1,000 acupoints that can be stimulated through the insertion of needles. Most claims of acupuncture have not been proved to the scientific standards of evidence-based medicine (cf. Cochrane Collaboration).
- Acupuncture point
- Applied kinesiology
- Ayurveda
- Chelation therapy
- Chiropractic Chiropractic is a popular form of alternative medicine whose physical mode of action is spinal manipulations that allegedly unblock nerve signals sent by the brain so that the body can heal itself. This care involves the adjustment of the spine and joints to influence the body’s nervous system and natural defense mechanisms to alleviate pain and improve general health. It is primarily used to treat back problems, headaches, nerve inflammation, muscle spasms, and other injuries and traumas.
- Craniosacral therapy
- Crystal power Crystal power , also known as crystal healing , is the belief that crystals have healing, mystical and/or paranormal powers. This belief has been part of several indigenous cultures for centuries. Today it is becoming popular among certain countercultures within Western society such as the new age movement, but is regarded as baseless by skeptics and the general scientific community.
- Electromagnetic therapy
- Faith healing Faith healing , or divine healing , is the use of spiritual means in treating disease, sometimes accompanied (in extreme instances) with the refusal of modern medical techniques. Another term for this is spiritual healing . Faith healing is a form of alternative medicine.
- Folk medicine Folk medicine refers collectively to procedures traditionally used for treatment of illness and injury, aid to childbirth, and maintenance of wellness. It is a body of knowledge distinct from "scientific medicine" and may coexist in the same culture. It is usually unwritten and transmitted orally until someone "collects" it. Folk medicine is sometimes associated with quackery when practiced as theatrics or otherwise practiced fraudulently, and sometimes with witchcraft and often with shamanism, yet it may also preserve important knowledge and cultural tradition from the past.
- Hair analysis (alternative medicine) Hair analysis is the chemical analysis of a hair sample. It is used in some branches of alternative medicine as a method of investigation to assist diagnosis. This use is controversial.
- Herbalism Herbalism , also known as herbal medicine , herbal therapy , herbology , and phytotherapy , is a folk and traditional medicinal practice based on the use of plants and plant extracts. A common misconception about herbalism and the use of 'natural' products in general, is that 'natural' equals safe.
- Homeopathy Homeopathy holds the premise of treating the sick with extremely diluted agents that, in undiluted doses, produce similar symptoms in the healthy. Its adherents and practitioners assert that the therapeutic potency of a remedy can be increased by serial dilution of the drug, combined with succussion, or vigorous shaking. Critics describe it as pseudoscience and quackery. The theory that extreme dilution makes drugs more powerful is inconsistent with the laws of chemistry and physics. Placebo-controlled clinical trials have given mixed results, but most have methodological problems, with better-quality trials more likely to give negative results. Additionally, cases have been reported of life-threatening complications resulting from attempts to treat serious conditions solely with homeopathic remedies.
- Hoxsey Therapy
- Innate intelligence It is well known that the use of the "innate intelligence" concept is controversial within the chiropractic profession, and is seen by many in the profession as antiquated metaphysical jargon which has no reference to reality. It is also a part of the "straight" vs. "mixing" battle that has been going on since the inception of chiropractic. Lon Morgan, DC, a reform chiropractor, expressed his criticism in this way: "Innate Intelligence clearly has its origins in borrowed mystical and occult practices of a bygone era. It remains untestable and unverifiable and has an unacceptably high penalty/benefit ratio for the chiropractic profession. The chiropractic concept of Innate Intelligence is an anachronistic holdover from a time when insufficient scientific understanding existed to explain human physiological processes. It is clearly religious in nature and must be considered harmful to normal scientific activity."
- Iridology Iridology , also known as iridodiagnosis , is an alternative medicine practice in which patterns, colors, and other characteristics of the iris are examined for information about a patient's systemic health. Practitioners match their observations to iris charts which divide the iris into zones that correpsond to specific parts of the human body. The eye, therefore, acts as a "window" into the body's state of health, although Iridology is a practice that is not recognized by mainstream medicine. Critics, mostly practitioners of mainstream medicine, dismiss iridology largely because published studies have indicated a lack of success for its claims. The proposed correlation between illness in the body and coinciding observable changes in the iris is unsupported by clinical data. In controlled experiments, practitioners of iridology have performed statistically no better than chance in determining the presence of a disease or condition solely through observation of the iris (See the scientific method).
- Isopathy
- Joint manipulation
- Magnet therapy Magnet therapy , or magnetic therapy , or magnotherapy is an alternative medicine claiming that certain medical disorders can be effectively treated by exposure to static magnetic fields. Scientific tests of magnetic therapy for the treatment of wrist pain from carpal tunnel syndrome and chronic low back pain have concluded that there is no health benefit from magnetic fields in those cases.
- Medical intuitive In alternative medicine, a Medical Intuitive is a person who feels that they have learned to apply their intuition to finding the cause of a condition. There are medical professionals, health care workers, scientists and others who are skeptical of such abilities and probably just as many who favor and use their services.
- Natural hygiene
- Nat
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