David W. Ramey

Homeopathy is a method of treating diseases with minute quantities of substances that would produce symptoms similar to the disease being treated if administered in larger quantities. David W. Ramey maintains in the following viewpoint that numerous studies have proven that these homeopathic remedies fail to cure illnesses and can worsen a patient’s condition. According to Ramey, these studies have concluded that homeopathy provides only a placebo effect, or the positive response a patient has to a treatment regardless of whether or not the remedy is actually efficacious. Ramey is a veterinarian who specializes in equine medicine and has written nine books on equine health.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. What were the conclusions of a 1990 French review of homeopathy studies, as cited by Ramey?
2. What is a “serial agitated dilution,” as...