Methods of Assessment
Abstract
HOLISTIC MEDICINE,VOL. 2, 103-107 (1987) POSITION PAPER Position Paper from BHMA Repofi on the BMA Board of Science Working Party on Alternative Therapy. July 1986. Methods of Assessment PETER REASON, BA PhD Centrefor the Study of Organizational Change and Development, University of Bath, Bath, UK 1. The report bases its assessment of both orthodox and alternative therapies on scientific method. However, science is a product of Western thinking, and is based on the assumptions Western society makes about the world and our place in it. Thus while within its world view science is a powerful tool for inquiry, it is by no means âfree from overriding social values and political biasâ. Many philosophers (Bateson, 1972;â Skolimowski, 19862) and lay people alike view the Western world view and the society which is its product as in serious disarray: while it has brought about enormous material benefits, it is also the root of ecological devastation, human and social alienation, and spiritual impoverishment. Thus it is quite inappropriate to base an assessment of alternatives solely on scientific method, and we need to reach out to find ways to assess critically therapies which arise from other world views in their own terms.