Scientific Skepticism
Scientists generally interpret the doctrine of signatures as superstition. The links are not causal and are consequently widely regarded as purely coincidental. There is no evidence that plant signatures helped in the discovery of medical uses of the plants. The signatures are described as post hoc attributions and mnemonics. Their mnemonic status is of value in creating a system for remembering actions attributed to medical herbs.
Read more about this topic: Doctrine Of Signatures
Famous quotes containing the words scientific and/or skepticism:
“The scientific mind is atrophied, and suffers under inherited cerebral weakness, when it comes in contact with the eternal woman—Astarte, Isis, Demeter, Aphrodite, and the last and greatest deity of all, the Virgin.”
—Henry Brooks Adams (1838–1918)
“No actual skeptic, so far as I know, has claimed to disbelieve in an objective world. Skepticism is not a denial of belief, but rather a denial of rational grounds for belief.”
—William Pepperell Montague (1842–1910)