Quantum healing is a
pseudoscientific
Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable claim ...
mixture of ideas which purportedly draws from
quantum mechanics,
psychology,
philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
, and
neurophysiology. Advocates of quantum healing assert that
quantum
In physics, a quantum (plural quanta) is the minimum amount of any physical entity (physical property) involved in an interaction. The fundamental notion that a physical property can be "quantized" is referred to as "the hypothesis of quantizati ...
phenomena govern health and wellbeing. There are different versions, which allude to various quantum ideas including
wave particle duality
In physics, mathematics, and related fields, a wave is a propagating dynamic disturbance (change from equilibrium) of one or more quantities. Waves can be periodic, in which case those quantities oscillate repeatedly about an equilibrium (res ...
and
virtual particles, and more generally to "
energy" and to
vibrations. Quantum healing is a form of
alternative medicine
Alternative medicine is any practice that aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine despite lacking biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or evidence from clinical trials. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and alt ...
.
Deepak Chopra
Deepak Chopra (; ; born October 22, 1946) is an Indian-American author and alternative medicine advocate. A prominent figure in the New Age movement, his books and videos have made him one of the best-known and wealthiest figures in alternati ...
coined the term "quantum healing" when he published the first edition of his book with that title in 1989. His discussions of quantum healing have been characterised as
technobabble - "incoherent babbling strewn with scientific terms" which drives those who actually understand physics "crazy" and as "redefining Wrong".
Quantum healing has a number of vocal followers, but the scientific community widely regards it as nonsensical.
The main criticism revolves around its systematic misinterpretation of modern
physics,
especially of the fact that
macroscopic objects (such as the human body or individual cells) are much too large to exhibit inherently quantum properties like
interference and
wave function collapse.
Physicist
Brian Cox argues that misuse of the word "quantum", such as its use in the phrase ''quantum healing'', has a negative effect on
society as it undermines genuine science and discourages people from engaging with conventional medicine. He states that "for some scientists, the unfortunate distortion and misappropriation of scientific ideas that often accompanies their integration into popular culture is an unacceptable price to pay."
See also
*
List of esoteric healing articles
*
Quantum mysticism
*
Quantum mind
References
External links
*
{{Pseudoscience , state=expanded
Healing
Pseudoscience
Alternative medicine
Concepts in alternative medicine