--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If any remedy is tested under controlled…" description: "\"If any remedy is tested under controlled scientific conditions and proved to be effective, it will cease to be alternative and will simply become medic..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/410/richard-dawkins-115_alternative-medicine_if-any-remedy-is-tested-under-controlled_51194.jpg" --- # If any remedy is tested under controlled scientific… ![“If any remedy is tested under controlled scientific conditions and proved to be effective, it will cease to be alternative and will simply become medicine. So-called alternative medicine either hasn't been tested or it has failed its tests.” quote by Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/410/richard-dawkins-115_alternative-medicine_if-any-remedy-is-tested-under-controlled_51194.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/410/richard-dawkins-115_alternative-medicine_if-any-remedy-is-tested-under-controlled_51194.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/410/richard-dawkins-115_alternative-medicine_if-any-remedy-is-tested-under-controlled_51194.jpg) > “If any remedy is tested under controlled scientific conditions and proved to be effective, it will cease to be alternative and will simply become medicine. So-called alternative medicine either hasn't been tested or it has failed its tests.” [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Scientific validation transforms a practice from 'alternative' to mainstream medicine; untested or failed methods remain outside accepted care. **In simple terms:** Evidence defines legitimate medicine. Key Takeaway Testing separates effective treatments from pseudoscience. Themes Science Medicine Skepticism Evidence-based practice Mood Analytical Skeptical Type Statement Observation When to use this quote - Evaluating new therapies - Regulatory review - Patient decision-making Key Concepts Scientific method Clinical trials Health care Practical Applications - Guiding policy on health interventions - Educating clinicians on evidence standards Questions to Reflect On - How does evidence shape public trust in medicine? - What are the risks of endorsing untested treatments? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alternative medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alternative-medicine/) [Doctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctor/) [Medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medicine/) [Remedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remedy/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Tests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tests/) ## Related quotes > [ \[Alternative medicine is defined as\] that set of practices that cannot be tested, refuse to be tested or consistently fail tests. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/alternative-medicine-is-defined-as-that-set-of-practices-that-cannot/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“In truth, so far modern medicine hasn’t extended our natural life span by a single year. Its great achievement has been to save us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/in-truth-so-far-modern-medicine-hasn-t-extended-our-natural-life-span/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [I do take stress medicine...it's called BEER!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/green-monk/i-do-take-stress-medicine-it-s-called-beer/) [Green Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/green-monk/) > [It is time for the scientific community to stop giving alternative medicine a free ride There cannot be two kinds of medicine — conventional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-angell/it-is-time-for-the-scientific-community-to-stop-giving-alternative/) [Marcia Angell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcia-angell/) > [I would take all the precautions, I'm going to bring my natural remedies, keep the mosquitoes away naturally and I'm going to bring my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerri-walsh/i-would-take-all-the-precautions-i-m-going-to-bring-my-natural/) [Kerri Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerri-walsh/) > [On the other side of the spirit veil, I spend more than a little bit of time researching the hallucinogens. I personally believe ayahuasca…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kilham/on-the-other-side-of-the-spirit-veil-i-spend-more-than-a-little-bit/) [Chris Kilham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kilham/) > [I studied homeopathy for years and years. Herbs and all kinds of acupuncture, acupressure, alternative medicine. I think it's just better to treat the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sissy-spacek/i-studied-homeopathy-for-years-and-years-herbs-and-all-kinds-of/) [Sissy Spacek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sissy-spacek/) > [England has a long history of supporting alternative medicine - maybe it's because they don't have such a strong pharmaceutical industry in England, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dasha-zhukova/england-has-a-long-history-of-supporting-alternative-medicine-maybe/) [Dasha Zhukova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dasha-zhukova/) > [In other parts of the world where I go, people are worried about, Jeez, you know, I really wanted to buy my kids shoes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kilham/in-other-parts-of-the-world-where-i-go-people-are-worried-about-jeez/) [Chris Kilham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kilham/) > [Alternative medicine plays into this exaggerated notion that you can prevent disease simply by doing the right thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-angell/alternative-medicine-plays-into-this-exaggerated-notion-that-you-can/) [Marcia Angell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcia-angell/) > [You need to understand plant chemistry, be inured to discomfort and awesomely flexible. When something breaks down-the plane, the boat, you just have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kilham/you-need-to-understand-plant-chemistry-be-inured-to-discomfort-and/) [Chris Kilham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kilham/) > [“In the field of medicine, Galen, the Alexandrian scientist, propounded a view that is still around, nowadays called 'alternative medicine.'It was taught in many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-f-cantor/in-the-field-of-medicine-galen-the-alexandrian-scientist-propounded-a/) [Norman F. Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-f-cantor/) > [A man may esteem himself happy when that which is his food is also his medicine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-man-may-esteem-himself-happy-when-that-which-is-his-food-is-also/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Maca boosts sex drive like crazy. And if there's any side effect, some people just have to stop taking it because they get so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kilham/maca-boosts-sex-drive-like-crazy-and-if-there-s-any-side-effect-some/) [Chris Kilham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kilham/) > [A man doesn't need a study to know if he's feeling amorous. There is no such thing as a placebo erection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kilham/a-man-doesn-t-need-a-study-to-know-if-he-s-feeling-amorous-there-is/) [Chris Kilham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kilham/) ## More by Richard Dawkins > [At the deepest level, all living things that have ever been looked at have the same DNA code. And many of the same genes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/at-the-deepest-level-all-living-things-that-have-ever-been-looked-at/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The word 'mundane' has come to mean 'boring' and 'dull', and it really shouldn't - it should mean the opposite. Because it comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-word-mundane-has-come-to-mean-boring-and-dull-and-it-really/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [We animals are the most complicated things in the known universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-animals-are-the-most-complicated-things-in-the-known-universe/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“The fundamentalist Kurt Wise proclaims that all the evidence in the universe would not change his mind. The true scientist, however passionately he may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-fundamentalist-kurt-wise-proclaims-that-all-the-evidence-in-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“I have found it an amusing strategy, when asked whether I am an atheist, to point out that the questioner is also an atheist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-have-found-it-an-amusing-strategy-when-asked-whether-i-am-an/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Religions do make claims about the universe--the same kinds of claims that scientists make, except they're usually false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/religions-do-make-claims-about-the-universe-the-same-kinds-of-claims/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“much of the Bible is not systematically evil but just plain weird, as you would expect of a chaotically cobbled-together anthology of disjointed documents,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/much-of-the-bible-is-not-systematically-evil-but-just-plain-weird-as/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The recurrent laryngeal nerve - which runs from the head to the voice box - goes all the way down into the chest, loops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-recurrent-laryngeal-nerve-which-runs-from-the-head-to-the-voice/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [The Roman Catholic Church is an institution for whose gains the phrase "ill-gotten" might have been specially invented. And of all its money-making rip-offs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/the-roman-catholic-church-is-an-institution-for-whose-gains-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Let us understand what our own selfish genes are up to because we may then at least have the chance to upset their designs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/let-us-understand-what-our-own-selfish-genes-are-up-to-because-we-may/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [What's going to happen when I die? I may be buried, or I may be cremated, I may give my body to science. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/what-s-going-to-happen-when-i-die-i-may-be-buried-or-i-may-be/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Or why it is acceptable to train fast runners and high jumpers but not to breed them. I can think of some answers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/or-why-it-is-acceptable-to-train-fast-runners-and-high-jumpers-but/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [We have seen that living things are too improbable and too beautifully 'designed' to have come into existence by chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-have-seen-that-living-things-are-too-improbable-and-too/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [“We will not go quietly away. If in the future that requires violence”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-will-not-go-quietly-away-if-in-the-future-that-requires-violence/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [It's a truly disgusting idea that the creator of the universe - capable of inventing the laws of physics and designing the evolutionary process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/it-s-a-truly-disgusting-idea-that-the-creator-of-the-universe-capable/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) [Explore all 1,239 Richard Dawkins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) ## More Alternative medicine quotes > [A man doesn't need a study to know if he's feeling amorous. There is no such thing as a placebo erection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kilham/a-man-doesn-t-need-a-study-to-know-if-he-s-feeling-amorous-there-is/) [Chris Kilham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kilham/) > [Maca boosts sex drive like crazy. And if there's any side effect, some people just have to stop taking it because they get so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kilham/maca-boosts-sex-drive-like-crazy-and-if-there-s-any-side-effect-some/) [Chris Kilham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kilham/) > [A man may esteem himself happy when that which is his food is also his medicine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-man-may-esteem-himself-happy-when-that-which-is-his-food-is-also/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“In the field of medicine, Galen, the Alexandrian scientist, propounded a view that is still around, nowadays called 'alternative medicine.'It was taught in many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-f-cantor/in-the-field-of-medicine-galen-the-alexandrian-scientist-propounded-a/) [Norman F. Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-f-cantor/) > [You need to understand plant chemistry, be inured to discomfort and awesomely flexible. When something breaks down-the plane, the boat, you just have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kilham/you-need-to-understand-plant-chemistry-be-inured-to-discomfort-and/) [Chris Kilham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kilham/) > [Alternative medicine plays into this exaggerated notion that you can prevent disease simply by doing the right thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-angell/alternative-medicine-plays-into-this-exaggerated-notion-that-you-can/) [Marcia Angell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcia-angell/) > [In other parts of the world where I go, people are worried about, Jeez, you know, I really wanted to buy my kids shoes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kilham/in-other-parts-of-the-world-where-i-go-people-are-worried-about-jeez/) [Chris Kilham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kilham/) > [England has a long history of supporting alternative medicine - maybe it's because they don't have such a strong pharmaceutical industry in England, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dasha-zhukova/england-has-a-long-history-of-supporting-alternative-medicine-maybe/) [Dasha Zhukova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dasha-zhukova/) > [I studied homeopathy for years and years. Herbs and all kinds of acupuncture, acupressure, alternative medicine. I think it's just better to treat the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sissy-spacek/i-studied-homeopathy-for-years-and-years-herbs-and-all-kinds-of/) [Sissy Spacek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sissy-spacek/) > [On the other side of the spirit veil, I spend more than a little bit of time researching the hallucinogens. I personally believe ayahuasca…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kilham/on-the-other-side-of-the-spirit-veil-i-spend-more-than-a-little-bit/) [Chris Kilham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kilham/) > [“Calling holistic medicine "alternative medicine" is no longer appropriate. The best approach now is "integrated medicine" in which we take the best of both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candess-m-campbell/calling-holistic-medicine-alternative-medicine-is-no-longer/) Candess M. Campbell > [You know the expression, "It's not personal; it's business." We sneer at such rot. All business is personal, all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kilham/you-know-the-expression-it-s-not-personal-it-s-business-we-sneer-at/) [Chris Kilham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kilham/) > [If you want to be happy, make someone else happy. If you want to find the right person in your life, be the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/if-you-want-to-be-happy-make-someone-else-happy-if-you-want-to-find/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [There is no better example of the weakness of our dominant medicine than its clearly ineffective War On Cancer. By the same token, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-atkins/there-is-no-better-example-of-the-weakness-of-our-dominant-medicine/) [Robert Atkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-atkins/) > [The first question an Ayurvedic physician asks is not 'What disease does my patient have?' but 'Who is my patient?' By 'who,' the physician…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/the-first-question-an-ayurvedic-physician-asks-is-not-what-disease/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) [Browse all 71 Alternative medicine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alternative-medicine/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If any remedy is tested under controlled scientific conditions and proved to be effective, it will cease to be alternative and will simply become medicine. So-called alternative medicine either hasn't been tested or it has failed its tests.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Dawkins" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/if-any-remedy-is-tested-under-controlled-scientific-conditions-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alternative medicine" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/if-any-remedy-is-tested-under-controlled-scientific-conditions-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/410/richard-dawkins-115_alternative-medicine_if-any-remedy-is-tested-under-controlled_51194.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/410/richard-dawkins-115_alternative-medicine_if-any-remedy-is-tested-under-controlled_51194.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/410/richard-dawkins-115_alternative-medicine_if-any-remedy-is-tested-under-controlled_51194.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If any remedy is tested under controlled scientific conditions and proved to be effective, it will cease to…” — Richard Dawkins", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Richard Dawkins", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If any remedy is tested under...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/if-any-remedy-is-tested-under-controlled-scientific-conditions-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/if-any-remedy-is-tested-under-controlled-scientific-conditions-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```