Voodoo Death - Critical Evaluation

Critical Evaluation

Despite Cannon's general ignorance on the particulars of physiological breakdown, scientists in the intervening years since the publication of Cannon's work, have generally agreed with his fundamental hypotheses concerning voodoo death. Criticisms that generally come against Cannon's work are directed at the hearsay nature of Cannon's case studies, but recent studies have discovered numerous examples of voodoo death in various societies. To those who allege difficulty in the experimental process of validating Cannon's theory, Barbara W. Lex, in her 1974 article titled, "Voodoo Death: New Thoughts on an Old Explanation," states that "Voodoo death" can easily be observed without complicated experiments:

"Pupillary constriction, easily observable and indicative of parasympathetic activation ... the amount of saliva, of perspiration, degree of muscle tonicity and skin pallor in an individual are also discernible without complicated instruments."

However, there are those who contest the theories involving psychologically-induced body failure. David Lester, PhD, in 1972, contends that Cannon's evidence, particularly the evidence concerning animals, is anecdotal and irrelevant, and instead sets forth the concept of "death by suggestion," and supports "giving up-given up" complex set forth by George L. Engel, thus attributing the cause of death entirely to the psychological state of the individual in question rather than a psychological–physiological connection adduced by Cannon. Going even further, Harry D. Eastwell, MD in his 1982 article, "Voodoo Death and the Mechanism for Dispatch of the Dying in East Arnhem, Australia," rejects entirely the concept of "Voodoo death," stating that the deaths in cases reported by Cannon et al. were more likely due to dehydration rather than to any psychological response.