A phenomenology of the 'placebo effect': taking meaning from the mind to the body

The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy
Oron Frenkel

Abstract

Most mainstream attempts to understand the "placebo effect" invoke expectancy theory, arguing that expecting certain outcomes from a treatment or intervention can manifest those outcomes. Expectancy theory is incompatible with the phenomena of placebo responses, more appropriately named "meaning responses." The expectancy account utilizes reflexive consciousness to connect a world of conceptual representations to mechanical physiology. An alternative account based upon Merleau-Ponty's motor intentionality argues that the body understands and is capable of responding to meanings without the need for any conceptual or linguistic content. A motor intentional framework of meaning poses dramatic implications for the interpretation of clinical trials and in the clinical practice of medicine. Most strongly, it argues that the empathic physician can facilitate the physiologic effects of treatments through skillful participation and manipulation of the meaning response.

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Citations

Dec 25, 2008·Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry·Jennifer Jo ThompsonMark Nichter
Jul 15, 2009·Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry·Ted J KaptchukEric E Jacobson
Apr 29, 2010·The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine : Research on Paradigm, Practice, and Policy·Claudia M WittStefan N Willich
May 18, 2011·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences·Karin Meissner
Jul 29, 2009·BMC Ear, Nose, and Throat Disorders·Claudia M WittStefan N Willich
Dec 22, 2010·The Journal of the American Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry·Thomas Cheuk Wing Li
Jul 4, 2009·Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines·Michael G HardinMonique Ernst
Nov 17, 2010·Nursing Forum·Susan H Lane, Eileen Kohlenberg
Sep 30, 2017·Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine : PEHM·Noelia Bueno-Gómez
Feb 26, 2019·Health Psychology Open·Doug I HardmanFelicity L Bishop
Apr 16, 2019·Frontiers in Psychology·Cosima LocherJens Gaab
Jul 22, 2020·BMJ : British Medical Journal·Ted J KaptchukFranklin G Miller
Aug 12, 2017·Biology & Philosophy·Giulio Ongaro, Dave Ward
Jun 22, 2021·Frontiers in Psychology·Iñigo R Arandia, Ezequiel A Di Paolo

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