New Age Healing and the Language of (Pseudo) Science: A Rhetorical Case Study of the Works of Joe Dispenza

This study examines the construction of “pseudoscience” in the work of Joe Dispenza, a popular New Age influencer who makes bold claims about the body’s ability to self-heal and shape its own future through mind techniques, which he claims are rooted in scientific research. In particular, it explores the particular artful blend of pro- and anti-scientific rhetoric utilized by Dispenza in his four books Evolve Your Brain, Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself, You Are the Placebo, and Becoming Supernatural. This analysis identifies a number of key techniques used by Dispenza to draw on the prestige of conventional scientific discourse while, at the same time, challenging and rejecting conventional scientific methodology. After discussing Dispenza’s strategies for imbuing his ideas with authority from mainstream science, the article focuses on the strategies that he adopts to undermine peer criticism and win over his target audience, including dismissing the ideology of mainstream science, promoting a “new paradigm” of science, claiming misinterpretation of evidence by scientists, using pseudo-religious language to describe scientific facts, and framing his ideas metaphorically against scientific materialism. The findings suggest that simply labelling the kind of work produced by Dispenza as “pseudoscience” is inadequate. A more nuanced approach is needed for this kind of analysis, one that pays heed to the rhetorical construction (and deconstruction) of scientific authority.