Acupunct Med. 2009 Jun;27(2):68-9. doi: 10.1136/aim.2009.000711.
Whether, or how far, acupuncture effects can be explained as due to the placebo response is clearly an important issue, but there is an underlying philosophical assumption implicit in much of the debate, which is often ignored. Much of the argument is cast in terms which suggest that there is an immaterial mind hovering above the brain and giving rise to spurious effects. This model derives from Cartesian dualism which would probably be rejected by nearly all those involved, but it is characteristic of "folk psychology" and seems to have an unconscious influence on much of the terminology that is used. The majority of philosophers today reject dualism and this is also the dominant trend in science. Placebo effects, on this view, must be brain effects. It is important for modern acupuncture practitioners to keep this in mind when reading research on the placebo question.
针刺效应是否以及在多大程度上可以被解释为是由于安慰剂反应，这显然是一个重要的问题，但在很大程度上被忽视的是，辩论中隐含着一个潜在的哲学假设。许多争论都是用这样的术语来表达的，即有一种非物质的心灵在大脑上方盘旋，并产生虚假的效应。这种模式源自笛卡尔二元论，几乎所有参与其中的人都可能会拒绝这种观点，但它是“民间心理学”的特征，并似乎对许多使用的术语产生了无意识的影响。今天，大多数哲学家都拒绝二元论，这也是科学的主流趋势。从这个观点来看，安慰剂效应必须是大脑效应。对于现代针灸从业者来说，当阅读关于安慰剂问题的研究时，牢记这一点很重要。
