University of Westminster, I still believe you are teaching pseudoscience degrees and am surprised your Life Sciences people think otherwise

In June, I emailed Professor Geoffrey Petts, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Westminster, in support of the Nightingale Collaboration’s Focus of the Month ‘Pseudo science by degrees‘.

He did not reply to me personally but sent this response to the Nightingale Collaboration. Since I was unimpressed by this and have now given up hope of receiving a personal reply from Professor Petts, I have emailed him the following:

The Nightingale Collaboration Focus of the Month: pseudoscience by degrees

I have decided, despite this, this, and this (informally resolved), not to bother blogging the ASA adjudications this week but to concentrate on the Nightingale Collaboration’s Focus of the Month: Pseudo science by degrees.

Like me, they have decided to give the ASA a break and ‘focus on the problem of what some therapists are being taught in our institutions of higher learning’. They point out that the University of Westminster (among others) are offering BSc, MSc and MSci courses in subjects such as naturopathy, herbal medicine, acupuncture and complementary medicine. They urge us to write to the Vice Chancellor of the University of Westminster, Professor Geoffrey Petts (and/or any other university offering such courses), to voice our concerns.

I decided to send an email: