Why Most Sugar Pills Are Not Placebos. Issue 5 (December 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Holman, Bennett
• Is Part Of: Philosophy of science. Volume 82:Issue 5(2015)
• Page Start: 1330
• Page End: 1343
• Publication Date: 2015-12
• Subjects: Science -- Periodicals; Science -- Philosophy; Science; Science -- Philosophy; Philosophie des sciences; Epistemology; Periodicals; 501
• DOI: 10.1086/683817
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1539-767X

Abstract

Abstract : The standard philosophical definition of placebos offered by Grünbaum is incompatible with Cartwright's conception of randomized clinical trials. I offer a modified account of placebos that respects this role and clarifies why many current medical trials fail to warrant the conclusions they are typically seen as yielding. I then consider recent changes to guidelines for reporting medical trials and show that pessimism over parsing out the cause of "unblinding" is premature. Specifically, using a trial of antidepressants, I show how more sophisticated statistical analyses can parse out the source of such effects and serve as an alternative to placebo control.