Suppose now that a patient with influenza was treated with aspirin and gets better. Restated otherwise, aspirin mobilized unexplained processes, or placebo effects. In this context, placebo treatment targets unexplained processes and is therefore non-specific. Wisdom of the body - Unexplained processes intrigued two renowned physiologists, E. H. Starling, and W. B. Cannon. Starling realized that even if all physiological processes in the body were understood, we still could not explain how they are controlled.
Black arrows represent explained processes, e.g. hormonal feedback.
Gray arrows represent the effect of the organism on the axis, which is generally unexplained. Since all components maintain homeostasis, hormonal treatment involves explained as well as unexplained processes. The WOB concept serves here as a rational evaluation of unexplained processes in healing. Whatever aspirin does to an influenza patient, it is mediated by the WOB that directs diseases in their course, and the role of the physician is to assist it. This new definition of the placebo effect has several merits.