Reference no: EM133346583

Case Study: In the previous topic about the Hippocratic Oath, some of you drew attention to the oath's mention of the Greek gods. While the ancient Greeks were the first (in Western culture) to apply scientific principles of observation and analytical reasoning to the treatment of illness, religion was still quite intertwined in ideas about ancient medicine. In ancient Athens, there were temples and sanctuaries to Asclepius (the Greek god of healing), to Apollo Alexikakos (= 'averter of evil'), Herakles Alexikakos (= 'averter of evil') and to the cult of Bendis, a healing deity from Thrace (in northern Greece). People seeking cures would sleep overnight in Asclepius' sanctuary and might dream of the god removing a snake from their eye or other diseased body part. Archaeologists have found ceramic ears, eyes, hands, and other body parts near Asclepius' sanctuary; these were votive offerings dedicated to the god by those who had been healed of their ailments.

While the study and practice of medicine in the modern world is based on scientific principles, there are many who (often simultaneously) believe in and use 'folk remedies,' have superstitions about drugs and medical treatment, and even shun hospitals and doctors. My father was a pharmacist who spent his entire career working in hospitals but I grew up drinking herbal soups his mother (and, accordingly, my dad) made and insisted we drink (the soup tasted very bitter, especially to a four-year-old who was not happy to hear she couldn't eat certain things (Oreos..) after drinking the soup!).

Question: Describe one example of a superstitious belief -- or a belief clearly not rooted in science and perhaps in traditional practices -- about medicine and health that you have heard someone speak about or even engage in, and how you would explain why such a belief would not actually heal a person, could even be dangerous, and might function more as a placebo.