Lionel Milgrom: “Homeopathy and Science: A Guide for the Perplexed. Conflict: Homeopathy and Science on Trial”

Lionel Milgrom has written an amazing polemic, defending homeopathy and nailing its detractors to their proverbial perch. A British homeopath and scientist, he draws on exhaustive sources, all wonderfully referenced, to explore the science behind homeopathy and in so doing, challenging those that call homeopathy unscientific and worse! He holds no prisoners in his style of writing but backs it up with all the evidence one needs. For a homeopath needing a book to use as a resource and guide in the trenches of defending homeopathy, this book has all the information one needs. The back drop to the book is the campaign against homeopathy in the UK over the last ten years or so and therefore, most references are based on the situation in the UK.

There are five main chapters, the first two titled The Homeopathic Heresy and Homeopathy and its Detractors. In these chapters he defends homeopathy by attacking the limits of allopathy, the policies of Big Pharma and also by challenging the agenda of those who have been so keen to attack homeopathy. He makes an excellent case here and also later in the book challenging the limits of Evidence Based Medicine (a key argument for those who say homeopathy has none) and of Random Control Trials (RCTs), another sacred idea in scientific mythology, which he dissects with relish. These are important points in the argument as they have been used endlessly against homeopathy. Who says homeopathy has no scientific basis? He makes one factual error, saying that only in the UK can non-medical licensed homeopaths practise, as Holland, Norway and perhaps some other countries have a similar situation. In these chapters he clearly outlines the main philosophical points of homeopathy and also asks questions as to whether homeopathy can be proven given the current state of scienceʼs focus on objectivity. He gives Big Pharma a very hard time, well justified of course, but one wonders if it possibly detracts from the other points being made.

Chapter Three is titled Homeopathy Dangerous – Compared to What? in which he dissects further the iatrogenic damage done through conventional medicine and the influence of the media in confusing the public about science and generally dumbing the public down.

Chapter Four is titled Science in Medicine – Is it Always the Best. In this chapter Milgrom discusses the possible scientific basis behind homeopathy, outlining inductive and deductive systems of thought and diving into the world of dark matter and quantum theory, and losing this reader in places! He also explores more the illusion of objectivity in science and the limits of RCTs, whether used in allopathy or homeopathy.

Chapter Five is titled Answering the Detractors – Homeopathy Explained, where he gives further explanations on homeopathy and how it may work including exploring the work of Jacques Benveniste, the famous French scientist who fell foul of the scientific journal Nature and as a result lost all his research funding and basically was scientifically lynched for daring to step outside the scientific box.

This is followed by an Afterword, a personal portrayal of the authorʼs story and relationship to homeopathy and then eight appendices, with a selection of writings by the author and authors that relate to the political situation in the UK when the government was involved in looking at homeopathy and its funding in the National Health Service.

This book makes great reading and is, as we would say in the USA, a “State of the Union” address as to where homeopathy is now in 2012–2013 after ten years of battle in the UK. It is a worthy and brilliantly referenced document. One criticism is that perhaps inevitably the style is polemical, which will not likely make much difference to those whose mind is already made up about homeopathy, and it may come across as too strident for those who know nothing about homeopathy at all. So the question I have is who is the audience for the book? As mentioned earlier, I see it as a great guide and reference for the homeopathic practitioner or zealot patient and advocate for homeopathy but for others, they may find it a bit hard going, including some of the scientific explanations. However, as an historical document for homeopathy and for the development of science in general, Milgrom has done a wonderful job.