Based on information and logic easily available to you at this time, evaluate
the argument that chiropractic was proved to work by the U.S. Agency for Health
Care Policy and Research. Your
task is to explain the pro chiropractic "AHCPR" argument as well as you
can, then explain the skeptical counter argument as well as you can, then say
which argument is better, and explain why.
Here are some links to sites that claim that the AHCPR report supports chiropractic.
Good Overview from Chiroweb
Foreword to the AHCPR study
http://www.chirowatch.com/chiro-practices/Chiro-Ontario/Thompson/myths.html
You can use just one of these pages, or all of them, but your analysis of each page should examine the following questions:
1. Was
the ACHPR panel a purely scientific meeting?
2. Were peer-reviewed scientific papers presented?
3. Were the participants presenting specific research or just their own opinions?
1. What
does the ACHPR panel, as quoted here, say exactly?
2. What
do chiropractors say that the Study says?
3. Do
the chiropractors get the report exactly right?
Explain the pro-chiropractic ACHPR Study argument as well as you can.
What is
its conclusion?
What
are its premises? (Including suppressed premises.)
What
logical principles does it appeal to?
Add other comments as you deem appropriate.
Before you go on to the opposing site, take a moment to ask yourself whether
the ACHPR study said anything at all about either subluxions or chiropractic
adjustments, and whether they said anything at all about controlled scientific studies of specifically chiropractic methods?
Based on what you've worked out above, say whether or not the ACHP Study
argument works, and explain why or why not.
Of course, once you've finished evaluating the argument, you can go on
and add any comments that occur to you. Did you change your mind about
anything? Can you come up with better arguments on each side of the issue?
Can you figure out what questions have to be settled before we can decide
this issue? Based on the arguments you've seen so far, what is your
overall take on the issue at this moment? What reasons do you have for
coming to this conclusion? Anything else?
Copyright © 2004 by Martin C. Young
