Placebo Effect

Notes

Claim

The Placebo effect is when simply believing that something will have a certain effect on us, it actually does.

Explanation

Belief acts directly, with no change in what we do. That separates it from belief that works through behavior and from being by doing. Here "believing makes it real" means this narrower sense only.

Why it matters

This shows the power of our minds on our bodies Physical states and actions unconsciously shape beliefs and behavior and the power of Perception.

Examples

It originated from medicine, where test subjects received a fake pill that was said to heal them, and the surprising result was that some of them actually improved despite not getting any treatment.

Supporters

Opposers

It's easy to overreach from here into Manifesting imposes beliefs onto reality rather than accepting it, the placebo effect works within real physiological limits on our own body, it's not evidence that belief alone can reshape the external world to match what we want.

Open questions

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