The Science of the “Simile”

Abstract

Homeopathy is often attacked with claims of not being evidence-based or for the implausible nature of its major principles of dilution/potentization and/or the similars (“similia similibus curentur”). However, these statements have already been falsified on the experimental ground, besides being incorrect on an epistemological level. Here we provide an updated appraisal of the scientific approach to the principle of Similars and homeopathy, focusing on laboratory models. After a brief historical introduction concerning the early scientific investigations, some recent in vitro studies are reviewed, with particular reference to those from our group. The second part is devoted to explaining the homeopathic principle of Similars using conceptual models in the field of complexity science and the theory of dynamic systems.