At 7:16 AM -0400 10/1/04, Allen Esterson wrote:
On 30 September Stephen Black wrote:
Allen's point [despite a disclaimer] does depend on the assumption
that Prozac is more effective than placebo for depression. If true,
then certainly withholding Prozac in favour of a sugar pill would
lead to adverse effect.
I don't want to get bogged down in semantics, but I don�t see that my
argument depended on the assumption of that Prozac is more effective than
placebo for depression. I emphasised that the nature of the situation
meant we were dealing with hypotheticals, and argued that *if* (no
assumption that it does, just the possibility) Prozac is more effective
than a sugar pill then it would not be the case that taking a sugar pill
has no adverse effects (keeping in mind that I was arguing that, from the
point of view of someone suffering from severe depression, no positive
result is very much an "adverse" effect if the Prozac alternative may have
had such a result). It seems to me perfectly valid to take no definite
view, but put an "if...then" argument. If, as Stephen thinks, this is
assuming Prozac is more effective than a sugar pill, then Stephen�s
argument that a sugar pill placebo has no adverse effects (in the wider
sense I spelled out) likewise assumes that Prozac is no more effective
than a sugar pill. It seems to me that each of us is arguing "if...then",
which does not preclude keeping open all possibilities.
But you haven't included ALL possibilities.
It is also possible that Prozac is iatrogenic; that taking Prozac is
WORSE than taking nothing or taking a placebo.
Without knowing the likelihood of these outcomes before hand there is
no way of predicting which condition is going to produce an adverse
effect.
That's why the research is being done!
--
* PAUL K. BRANDON [EMAIL PROTECTED] *
* Psychology Dept Minnesota State University *
* 23 Armstrong Hall, Mankato, MN 56001 ph 507-389-6217 *
* http://www.mnsu.edu/dept/psych/welcome.html *
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