Abstract
Robin Nunn has argued that we should stop using the terms ‘placebo’ and ‘placebo effect’. I argue in support of Nunn’s position by considering the logic of why we perform placebo comparisons. Like all comparisons, placebo comparison is just a case of comparing one thing with another, but it is a mistake, I argue, to think of placebo comparison as a case where something is compared to ‘a placebo’. Rather, placebo comparison should be understood as a situation which sets-up the treatment and control groups in a particular way; not as a case involving objects or procedures called ‘placebos’ employed in order to control for ‘placebo effects’.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 419-432 |
Number of pages | 14 |
Journal | Biology & Philosophy |
Volume | 27 |
Issue number | 3 |
Early online date | 27 Sept 2011 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - May 2012 |
Keywords
- Placebo
- Placebo controlled trial
- Clinical trials
- Evidence-based medicine