Until fairly recently most Western doctors and pharmaceutical companies have worked on the basis that there is 'a pill for every ill'. The philosophical approach behind this idea is that an external force, or chemical, can cure disease, but although some pills are of great value, both the general public and the medical profession have become considerably more skeptical about the widespread use of such chemicals. Traditional Chinese medicine states that the body has the potential to cure its own diseases if pushed (or needled) in the correct way.

Some authors, such as Ivan Illich, have been hypercritical of Western medicine and thus some people have looked upon acupuncture as not just an alternative but a superior system of medicine. Acupuncture is just another medical system, with ideas that may be of benefit to the individual patient and Western medicine as a whole, but it cannot be promulgated as either superior or a cure all. The major disadvantage of Western medicine is that it has the potential to cause a great deal of harm. Acupuncture, on the other hand, is most unlikely to cause any serious damage as it is a particularly safe form of therapy; this is undoubtedly one of its main advantages.