University of Toronto: Anti-vaccine Homeopathy Course Is Fine

The University of Toronto recently undertook an investigation of one of its courses, a bachelor-level health class that taught both anti-vaccination materials and the "science" of homeopathy. The investigation was undertaken because of complaints from professors and other scientific and medical experts. Surprisingly, the university concluded that the class was just fine. "Students taking (the course) ... are in their final year of study and are expected to approach controversial topics with a critical lens. The instructor reports that she provides these readings as the students have already seen the other side in previous courses." The course's syllabus is available for reading. It contains quotes like this: "There are broad concepts that bind various 'alternative' medical modalities together. Among these is the assertion that the human organism, which developed as an integrated unit in its formation, also functions as an integrated unit; that mind, body, and spirit are inextricably linked. Disorder or disturbance in any one of these areas can cause disease in another area."
Update: 07/13 14:14 GMT by S : Reader Gallenod points out that the University has now decided that the course will not be taught during the 2015-2016 academic year, or over the summer.

Comments

Vaccines are great, but

[Anonymous Coward]

I think there is a unfortunate tendency in scientific and medical circles to present an overly rosy view of vaccines making them seem like perfect magical ways of making everyone immune to a particular disease at no risk. That is simply not true. Vaccines SHOULD be made readily available, people SHOULD be encouraged to get them but barring an outbreak it is reasonable that their usage should be continually examined (as with pretty much everything) for effectiveness and getting them should be voluntary for the most part. I swear some in the "pro-vaccine" crowd are just as insane as those in the "anti-vaccine" crowd, blindly proclaiming that anyone who doesn't get a foreign substance injected in to their bodies on a regular basis for diseases that are exceedingly rare is some religious nut job or brain dead hillbilly while ignoring the fact they they themselves are quite often uneducated about the facts surrounding vaccines.

Re:That's cool though

[XxtraLarGe]

You're an armchair 'expert' who doesn't actually know anything about topics you're discussing, but you think your point of view is valid regardless.

I'm impressed that you're an expert on the things I know about. I know for instance, homeopathy is snake oil, Bruce Jenner is still a man even if he wants to get breast implants and dresses himself as a woman, and Rachel Dolezal is white, even if she wants to say she's black.

It's depressing that humanity's breadth of knowledge has increased to an unprecedented level, yet instead of educating themselves about the world they live in people prefer to just dig deeper holes to stick their heads in.

What's more depressing is all the SJWs that are so busy being offended by everything that they have to make everything awful for everyone else. Maybe it's the "enlightened" people like you who are part of the problem.