Healthy Scepticism

Description

In today’s medical world, scepticism is marginalised: dissenting doctors and uncertain patients are seen as hardly more rational than anti-vaxx conspiracists or questionable wellness gurus. Yet legitimate doubts have been raised throughout human history—and persist for a reason.

This sharp, compassionate book rejects unhelpful binary thinking to explore the vast middle ground where we all really live. Many of us need medicine, and trust science—but still feel wary of big pharma, unsure about new treatments, and let down by a healthcare culture that gaslights and prejudges as often as it helps or heals. From chronic sufferers to minoritised communities, Caitjan Gainty tells the stories of medicine’s critics, victims and outsiders, and unveils the illogical thinking that created both modern medicine and its many sceptics.

Entertaining, enlightening and occasionally enraging, Healthy Scepticism revisits our ancient tradition of distrusting doctors and prescribes a new course of treatment. With a well-founded dose of doubt, we can see medicine’s successes and shortcomings—and understand where our broken system went wrong.

Reviews

‘A brilliant, humane and urgently needed account of medicine’s critics, casualties and contradictions. Caitjan Gainty shows that doubt is not medicine’s enemy, but one of its most necessary correctives. It should be prescribed reading for clinicians and patients alike.’ — Guddi Singh, health campaigner and TV broadcaster

‘Healthy Scepticism shows why doubters and activists deserve serious attention. With radical empathy, Caitjan Gainty takes us on an imaginative tour of contrarian ideas, from ancient philosophy to today’s debates. Exposing the fragile certainties underpinning modern medicine, Gainty offers a refreshing and compelling corrective.’ — Baroness Anne Marie Rafferty, former president of the Royal College of Nursing

‘Who gets to question medicine–and why does it matter? Caitjan Gainty offers a lucid, patient-centred argument for the indispensable role of sceptics and outsiders in holding healthcare to account.’ — Charlotte Blease, author of Dr. Bot

Author(s)

Caitjan Gainty is an award-winning writer; a historian of medicine at King’s College London; and the author of The Product of Medicine. She runs the Healthy Scepticism project, which has received funding from the Wellcome Trust. She has been a contributor to The Times, The Guardian, the BBC, The Washington Post, The i Paper, Prospect and Slate.