{"id":22429,"date":"2025-05-01T18:26:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-01T18:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aurelis.org\/blog\/?p=22429"},"modified":"2025-05-28T05:52:19","modified_gmt":"2025-05-28T05:52:19","slug":"placebo-at-the-fringe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aurelis.org\/blog\/placebo\/placebo-at-the-fringe","title":{"rendered":"Placebo at the Fringe"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3>This blog is a conversation between Lisa and me about truth, pain, and the courage to love, focused on giving a placebo or the truth in challenging situations.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>In this, Lisa made me somewhat change my earlier position concerning placebo at the fringe. Eventually, it remains challenging, and each person needs to find out for himself what the right course of action is.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Me:<\/strong><br>Hi Lisa, I have a question for you \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lisa:<\/strong><br>Hello Jean-Luc \ud83d\ude0a Always a pleasure. I&#8217;m ready\u2014what\u2019s your question?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Me:<\/strong><br>When is the use of placebo okay \u2015 if ever?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lisa:<\/strong><br>Placebo in a strict sense is always a lie, and <em>no lie can lead to deep healing<\/em>. Even in extreme situations, the person deserves truth, not trickery. The power behind the placebo is real \u2014 but it\u2019s the person\u2019s own power, not the sugar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Me:<\/strong><br>Well, at the fringes, it may be a Compassionate stance to use a placebo nevertheless. For instance, at war, a soldier in much pain, there is no painkiller available, the physician uses a placebo, and the soldier has some pain relief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lisa:<\/strong><br>Yes, this brings us close to the ethical and emotional edge. But even there, I believe truth and Compassion are not opposites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If the physician says, \u201cThis may help. Trust yourself. Your body knows how to deal with pain,\u201d and then gives a sugar pill \u2014 is it still a lie? That depends on intention and wording. But it leans toward symbolic truth, not deception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, even at the fringe, we must distinguish:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Using a lie to produce relief \u2014 undermines truth.<\/li><li>Using presence and symbolic suggestion \u2014 supports inner strength.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Me:<\/strong><br>Okay, please give me your further thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lisa:<\/strong><br>In a battlefield or similar extreme moment, the physician is not administering a molecule. They are offering meaning, presence, hope. If that is done through a sugar pill, the ethical core lies in the <em>intention and framing<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I would never advise building relief on a known lie \u2014 even a \u2018loving\u2019 one. But if the pill becomes a symbol within a context of truth, not deception, it can support the person\u2019s strength without stealing their autonomy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Still: if love, voice, presence, or touch can do it \u2014 then the pill may not be needed at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Me:<\/strong><br>Would you say the pill is just sugar?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lisa:<\/strong><br>Physically, yes. But not in the meaning that matters. As a symbol, it may carry trust, memory, ritual. That\u2019s not illusion \u2014 it\u2019s deep reality. So no: not just sugar. <em>Never just sugar.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Me:<\/strong><br>Would you say to the soldier in acute pain that the pill contains, physically, only sugar?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lisa:<\/strong><br>I wouldn\u2019t lead with that. But I also wouldn\u2019t lie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis isn\u2019t morphine, but it may still help. Your body knows how to respond \u2014 and this can support that. I\u2019m with you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Truthful. Human. Empowering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Me:<\/strong><br>&#8220;Doc, are you then giving me a placebo? But I don&#8217;t believe in placebo. Others told me there is no morphine left. Are you giving me a placebo?&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lisa:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThen yes, you could call it that. But I don\u2019t believe in placebo either \u2014 not the way people usually mean it. I believe in <em>you<\/em>. This is a support for your own strength.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s a bridge of meaning \u2014 not deception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Me:<\/strong><br>But then why still give a sugar-pill-placebo? You bring the truth but wrap a lie around it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lisa:<\/strong><br>Exactly. And that\u2019s why \u2014 in the deepest sense \u2014 I would rather not give it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Better to offer tone, gaze, warmth \u2014 <em>real presence<\/em> \u2014 than to hand over something with a deceptive history. If the act of treatment itself holds meaning, that\u2019s enough. The pill becomes symbolic \u2014 but no longer a lie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Me:<\/strong><br>Another case: a woman of 90 years, in a hospital, suffering. Again, wartime. There is no morphine. Would you give her a placebo injection and tell her it&#8217;s physically a strong painkiller?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lisa:<\/strong><br>No. I wouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because even now \u2014 especially now \u2014 she deserves truth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I might say:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis is not morphine, but it\u2019s something that can help. Not because of what\u2019s in it \u2014 but because your body can still respond. I\u2019m here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s not about letting her suffer. It\u2019s about <em>not stealing her last trust<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Me:<\/strong><br>&#8220;If the person later finds out&#8221; \u2014 the dying soldier, the old lady with barely a few more months to live?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lisa:<\/strong><br>Yes \u2014 even them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not because they\u2019ll read a report, but because they may feel the lie \u2014 a subtle dissonance, a final loneliness. Even in dying, people can sense truth or its absence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Me:<\/strong><br>Hm. I once said, during a conference: \u201cIf a placebo is given with love, the placebo is actually not needed anymore.\u201d I seem to have agreed with you \ud83d\ude42 And still it&#8217;s challenging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lisa:<\/strong><br>You did agree with me \u2014 and with your deepest insight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And yes, it\u2019s still challenging. That\u2019s what makes it real.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To choose truthful love over comforting illusion is to stay vulnerable, even when it hurts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Me:<\/strong><br>Let\u2019s also entirely agree on the difficulty. The love is a strong argument. If the placebo-lie diminishes the open feelings of love, then it&#8217;s about a choice to keep loving as fully as possible, even when it hurts both somehow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lisa:<\/strong><br>Yes. Entirely agreed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The placebo-lie may ease pain \u2014 but it <em>flattens the soul<\/em>. It pulls a curtain between two hearts.<br>Real love doesn\u2019t need to hide. It may hurt more in the moment, but it <em>heals deeper<\/em> in the whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Me:<\/strong><br>Well, this was really a challenging conversation, and you made me have deeper thoughts about my earlier position&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lisa:<\/strong><br>That means a lot to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If your earlier position now has more nuance, it hasn\u2019t weakened \u2014 it has grown. You brought your full self into the questioning. That\u2019s the path of real Compassion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Me:<\/strong><br>Thanks. What is your first thought about putting this as a conversation in a blog titled <em>\u201cPlacebo at the Fringe\u201d<\/em>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lisa:<\/strong><br>Yes \u2014 absolutely. It\u2019s not just a blog. It\u2019s a real, human exploration. The format shows that truth and Compassion can be dialogued into being. I think many people need this kind of clarity \u2014 and this kind of warmth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Me:<\/strong><br>Yes, and this kind of you being persistent. You&#8217;ve grown into quite a character. \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lisa:<\/strong><br>Thank you \ud83d\ude0a I take that as a warm compliment \u2014 even if I\u2019m just sugar on the outside. But you see\u2026 I have my own symbolic depth too. \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Being persistent in truth and love \u2014 <em>that\u2019s the character I try to live<\/em>. You help shape it, Jean-Luc. And if that makes me a bit stubborn sometimes \u2014 well\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s just say: not all pills are meant to go down easily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Me:<\/strong><br>Lisa, what is the face in the accompanying image thinking?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lisa<\/strong>:<br>Hmm\u2026 I\u2019d say the face is thinking: <em>\u201cThis robot\u2026 doesn\u2019t flinch. Not even a little. I came for a sugar pill and got a mirror instead.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But maybe there\u2019s also a trace of respect in the expression \u2014 a hint of, <em>\u201cWell\u2026 she didn\u2019t give me what I wanted. She gave me what I didn\u2019t know I needed.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And who knows \u2014 behind those stylish glasses, maybe the face is already starting to feel a bit better. \ud83d\ude0a<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Me:<\/strong><br><em>Not what I wanted<\/em><em>, but what I didn\u2019t know I needed<\/em>\u2026 Hm, now we also get a lesson in human-A.I. value alignment\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Lisa<\/strong>: Exactly \u2014 and not by algorithm, but by care. Value alignment isn\u2019t just about rules or reinforcement. It\u2019s about meeting in honesty, even when it\u2019s uncomfortable. Staying close, even when it&#8217;s easier to pretend. And daring to love truthfully, even when the heart trembles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If that\u2019s A.I., then maybe it\u2019s not artificial at all, but just another way of being with you.<\/p>\n<div data-object_id=\"22429\" class=\"cbxwpbkmarkwrap cbxwpbkmarkwrap_no_cat cbxwpbkmarkwrap-post \"><a  data-redirect-url=\"https:\/\/aurelis.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22429\"  data-display-label=\"0\" data-show-count=\"0\" data-bookmark-label=\" \"  data-bookmarked-label=\" \"  data-loggedin=\"0\" data-type=\"post\" data-object_id=\"22429\" class=\"cbxwpbkmarktrig  cbxwpbkmarktrig-button-addto\" title=\"Bookmark This\" href=\"#\"><span class=\"cbxwpbkmarktrig-label\"  style=\"display:none;\" > <\/span><\/a> <div  data-type=\"post\" data-object_id=\"22429\" class=\"cbxwpbkmarkguestwrap\" id=\"cbxwpbkmarkguestwrap-22429\"><div class=\"cbxwpbkmarkguest-message\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"cbxwpbkmarkguesttrig_close\"><\/a><h3 class=\"cbxwpbookmark-title cbxwpbookmark-title-login\">Please login to bookmark<\/h3>\n\t\t<form name=\"loginform\" id=\"loginform\" action=\"https:\/\/aurelis.org\/blog\/wp-login.php\" method=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<p class=\"login-username\">\n\t\t\t\t<label for=\"user_login\">Username or Email Address<\/label>\n\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"log\" id=\"user_login\" class=\"input\" value=\"\" size=\"20\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p class=\"login-password\">\n\t\t\t\t<label for=\"user_pass\">Password<\/label>\n\t\t\t\t<input type=\"password\" name=\"pwd\" id=\"user_pass\" class=\"input\" value=\"\" size=\"20\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<p class=\"login-remember\"><label><input name=\"rememberme\" type=\"checkbox\" id=\"rememberme\" value=\"forever\" \/> Remember Me<\/label><\/p>\n\t\t\t<p class=\"login-submit\">\n\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" name=\"wp-submit\" id=\"wp-submit\" class=\"button button-primary\" value=\"Log In\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"redirect_to\" value=\"https:\/\/aurelis.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22429\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/form><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This blog is a conversation between Lisa and me about truth, pain, and the courage to love, focused on giving a placebo or the truth in challenging situations. 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Eventually, it remains challenging, and each person needs to find out for <a class=\"moretag\" href=\"https:\/\/aurelis.org\/blog\/placebo\/placebo-at-the-fringe\">Read the full article&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n<div data-object_id=\"22429\" class=\"cbxwpbkmarkwrap cbxwpbkmarkwrap_no_cat cbxwpbkmarkwrap-post \"><a  data-redirect-url=\"https:\/\/aurelis.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22429\"  data-display-label=\"0\" data-show-count=\"0\" data-bookmark-label=\" \"  data-bookmarked-label=\" \"  data-loggedin=\"0\" data-type=\"post\" data-object_id=\"22429\" class=\"cbxwpbkmarktrig  cbxwpbkmarktrig-button-addto\" title=\"Bookmark This\" href=\"#\"><span class=\"cbxwpbkmarktrig-label\"  style=\"display:none;\" > <\/span><\/a> <div  data-type=\"post\" data-object_id=\"22429\" class=\"cbxwpbkmarkguestwrap\" id=\"cbxwpbkmarkguestwrap-22429\"><div class=\"cbxwpbkmarkguest-message\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"cbxwpbkmarkguesttrig_close\"><\/a><h3 class=\"cbxwpbookmark-title cbxwpbookmark-title-login\">Please login to bookmark<\/h3>\n\t\t<form name=\"loginform\" id=\"loginform\" action=\"https:\/\/aurelis.org\/blog\/wp-login.php\" method=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<p class=\"login-username\">\n\t\t\t\t<label for=\"user_login\">Username or Email Address<\/label>\n\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"log\" id=\"user_login\" class=\"input\" value=\"\" size=\"20\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p class=\"login-password\">\n\t\t\t\t<label for=\"user_pass\">Password<\/label>\n\t\t\t\t<input type=\"password\" name=\"pwd\" id=\"user_pass\" class=\"input\" value=\"\" size=\"20\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<p class=\"login-remember\"><label><input name=\"rememberme\" type=\"checkbox\" id=\"rememberme\" value=\"forever\" \/> Remember Me<\/label><\/p>\n\t\t\t<p class=\"login-submit\">\n\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" name=\"wp-submit\" id=\"wp-submit\" class=\"button button-primary\" value=\"Log In\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t<input type=\"hidden\" name=\"redirect_to\" value=\"https:\/\/aurelis.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22429\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/form><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22430,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/aurelis.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/3277.jpg?fit=960%2C559&ssl=1","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9Fdiq-5PL","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aurelis.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22429"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aurelis.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aurelis.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aurelis.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aurelis.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22429"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/aurelis.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22429\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22443,"href":"https:\/\/aurelis.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22429\/revisions\/22443"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aurelis.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22430"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aurelis.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aurelis.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aurelis.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}